New Delhi: In the upcoming Modi 3.0 government, key BJP leaders such as outgoing Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari are expected to retain their portfolios, sources indicate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take his oath of office at 7:15 pm today, following a tea gathering for the incoming ministers at his residence.
Sources reveal that Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU will each receive at least one cabinet berth and one Minister of State post. These decisions were finalized after an extensive 11-hour meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence, attended by Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda, and national general secretary (organization) BL Santhosh.
Other coalition allies, including Chirag Paswan of LJP (Ram Vilas), HD Kumaraswamy of JDS, Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal (Sonelal), Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, and Jitan Ram Manjhi of Hindustani Awam Morcha, are also expected to secure ministerial positions. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is likely to be represented by Buldhana MP Prataprao Jadhav.
Additionally, West Delhi MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat, former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Madhya Pradesh leaders Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Northeast leaders Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju are potential candidates for ministerial posts.
Despite BJP winning only 240 seats, falling short of the majority mark, TDP with 16 seats and JDU with 12 have emerged as crucial players. Both Naidu and Kumar, experienced in coalition politics, have leveraged their positions effectively.
BJP sources had previously informed NDTV that they intend to keep control over the four critical portfolios in the cabinet committee on security: Home, Defence, Finance, and External Affairs. Nitin Gadkari’s continued success in expanding road connectivity during Modi’s previous terms has solidified his position.
The new cabinet announcement will soon reveal the finalized team, with JDU leaders Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur expected to be among the new ministers.
