 "Who are the 30 Cabinet ministers in Modi's 71-strong council of ministers?")
In a grand ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 9, Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s Prime Minister for a third consecutive term, accompanied by 71 ministers. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to the Prime Minister and his new Cabinet.
At 73, Narendra Modi is only the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to secure a third consecutive term. His new Cabinet, referred to as Cabinet 3.0, reflects a blend of experience, expertise, and vision, consisting of 30 Cabinet ministers, five Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 36 Ministers of State.
The Cabinet represents a diverse cross-section of the nation, with 27 ministers from Other Backward Classes, 10 from Scheduled Castes, five from Scheduled Tribes, and five from minority groups. Notably, 18 senior ministers will be heading various ministries.
Cabinet 3.0 also includes 43 ministers who have served three terms or more in Parliament, with 39 having previous ministerial experience in the Government of India. Additionally, the Cabinet boasts several former chief ministers and ministers with substantial state-level experience.
Check the full list of Cabinet ministers here:
1. Amit Shah
Recognised for his political acumen and strategic prowess, senior BJP leader Amit Shah has played a pivotal role in the phenomenal growth of the saffron party, helping it cross the 300-seat mark in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
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Known as the second most influential figure in the country after PM Modi and a staunch advocate of the saffron ideology, 59-year-old Shah emerged as the BJP's master organiser when the party's alliance secured 73 seats from Uttar Pradesh in 2014 under his leadership as the party's general secretary.
Often likened to the modern-day Chanakya, Shah made history by becoming the youngest president of the BJP at 49 in 2014, later assuming office as one of the youngest Union Home Ministers at 54 in 2019.
Born into a prominent Gujarati family in Mumbai in 1964, Shah's political journey began at the age of 16 when he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a 'Swayamsevak' in 1980, swiftly immersing himself in the activities of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) soon after.
Demonstrating unwavering commitment to the party's principles, exceptional organisational skills, and eloquence, Shah quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the joint secretary of the ABVP's Gujarat unit within two years.
2. Rajnath Singh
A strategist and a quintessential political leader with grassroots connections, Rajnath Singh is credited with expanding the BJP's organisational network in the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh during the 1990s and the subsequent decades.
Hailing from the Chandauli district of UP, Singh is known as a moderate face and is widely respected by leaders across party lines.
The 72-year-old Singh, whose illustrious political career spans over five decades, took oath on Sunday as a member of PM Modi's Cabinet 3.0.
Long seen as a protege of BJP patriarch Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Singh started his political career as a student activist with ABVP and went on to become the BJP national president in 2005.
The senior BJP leader was elected for another term as the party president in January 2013. In the Lok Sabha elections, Singh retained the prestigious Lucknow constituency. During PM Modi's first tenure, he served as Union Home Minister.
Since 2019, as the Defence Minister, Singh has initiated several path-breaking measures to strengthen India's combat readiness along the border with China and boost the country's defence manufacturing.
Under his leadership, the defence ministry pursued an aggressive policy to enhance infrastructure along the frontier region, significantly aiding faster military mobilisation in sensitive sectors.
3. Nitin Gadkari
Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, popularly known as the 'Highway Man of India', is renowned for his proactive approach and dedication to his work. The 67-year-old leader from Maharashtra's Nagpur has been the longest-serving minister for road transport and highways, holding the portfolio in the last two governments led by Narendra Modi.
Gadkari is credited with the construction of more than 90,000 km of national highways and 30,000 km of new roads in the country over the past decade.
In an interview with news agency PTI earlier this year, the senior BJP leader expressed his desire to assist people in even the smallest ways and to continue working to bring about positive change in their lives.
The former BJP president, closely associated with the RSS, has won three consecutive terms from the Lok Sabha seat of Nagpur, which houses the RSS headquarters.
On Sunday, he was inducted into the NDA government as a Cabinet minister.
Gadkari's entry into national politics occurred when he was appointed president of the BJP in 2009. Since 2014, when Gadkari made his debut in the Lok Sabha elections from Nagpur and became a minister at the Centre, he has managed several portfolios, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Rural Development, and Panchayati Raj.
Gadkari has maintained a low profile politically since becoming a minister, focusing on his ministerial responsibilities.
He served as a member of the Maharashtra legislative council from the Nagpur Graduates' constituency from 1989 to 2014. He became a state minister for the first time in 1995, overseeing the Public Works Department (PWD).
During his tenure, he worked on constructing all-weather roads in the state and addressing the problem of malnutrition in the Melghat area of the Vidarbha region.
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway and 54 flyovers in Mumbai were constructed during his tenure as a state minister.
4. S Jaishankar
BJP leader Subrahmanyam Jaishankar took oath as Union Cabinet minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday. He served as External Affairs Minister (EAm) during PM Modi's second term (2019-2024). Jaishankar has been a BJP MP in Rajya Sabha from Gujarat since 2019.
Popular for his witty replies and oratory skills, Jaishankar has been pivotal in shaping India's foreign policy over the last decade. Before his tenure as the EAM in 2019, he served as India's foreign secretary from 2015 to 2018, becoming the first foreign secretary to transition to the role of EAM.
Jaishankar's term as EAM in 2019 coincided with significant global turmoil and conflicts. His tenure included managing India's response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Israel-Hamas war, and the Covid-19 pandemic, all of which had profound impacts on the global and Indian economies.
During these challenging times, India's stance was guided by the principle of 'Nation First'. In the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India consistently condemned civilian killings and advocated for a peaceful resolution.
However, despite pressure from the West, India has not refrained from purchasing Russian oil below the price cap.
5. Nirmala Sitharaman
Nirmala Sitharaman, who joined the ranks of Arun Jaitley and Manmohan Singh by serving a full term as finance minister and is credited with advancing second-generation reforms, created history by becoming the first woman to be sworn in as minister for the third consecutive term in the Modi government.
A dynamic spokesperson for the BJP, she was inducted into the Cabinet when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of the NDA government in 2014.
As a staunch defender of the Modi government's economic policies, she set another record by becoming the first female Defence Minister in 2017. Prior to that, she served as the industry and commerce minister.
Following the illness of her mentor, Arun Jaitley, Sitharaman was entrusted with the finance portfolio in the newly re-elected Modi government after the 2019 general elections, where the BJP secured its highest seat count of 303.
She became the first full-time woman finance minister in Independent India, with Indira Gandhi having previously held the finance portfolio as an additional charge for a brief period during her tenure as PM.
One of her significant reforms after assuming office was the reduction of the base corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 22 per cent to stimulate an economy affected by demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation.
Born in Madurai on August 18, 1959, to Narayan Sitharaman, who worked in the Railways, and Savitri, a homemaker, Nirmala Sitharaman studied economics at Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College in Tiruchirapalli. She then pursued her Master's and M.Phil in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.
Before entering politics, Sitharaman worked in the corporate sector in the UK, where she lived with her husband, Parakala Prabhakar. The couple, who met while studying at JNU, married in 1986 and have a daughter, Parakala Vangmayi.
6. Ashwini Vaishnaw
A 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Ashwini Vaishnaw resigned from the service in 2010 to work in multinational companies like General Electric (GE) and Siemens before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey. Vaishnaw became one of the key ministers in Modi 2.0, overseeing important portfolios such as Railways, Information Technology (IT), and Electronics and Communications, and spearheading the creation of public infrastructure at a record speed.
As railway minister since 2021, Vaishnaw has overseen the rapid electrification and expansion of railway tracks. This year, the railways will add 5,500 kilometres of new track, equating to integrating the size of Switzerland into the country annually, while nearly 7,000 kilometres of worn-out tracks will be replaced each year.
In the past three years, he has pushed for the introduction of approximately 40 luxury trains, known as the Vande Bharat Express. These medium-distance superfast express trains connect cities less than 800 kilometres apart or require less than ten hours of travel. Last year, his ministry rolled out the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, Kavach, designed to prevent collisions between two trains if they accidentally travel on the same track.
Soon after assuming office in 2021, Vaishnaw faced opposition scrutiny over alleged snooping of Indian journalists and activists through Pegasus software, an Israeli spyware allegedly misused to compromise the mobile phone data of several political opponents. Subsequently, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court regarding the Pegasus controversy. In response, the Supreme Court constituted a three-member expert panel to examine the allegations of mobile phone snooping using the spyware. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the then Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, stated that the central government did "not cooperate" in the investigation. The case remains pending in the Supreme Court.
7. Jitan Ram Manjhi
Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) founder and former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, aged 79, is a prominent Dalit representative of the NDA in Bihar.
Manjhi first entered the Bihar legislative assembly in 1980 as a Congress MLA and has since held significant positions in the state government. Shortly after his political debut, he was appointed as a minister in the Chandrashekhar Singh government.
In May 2014, Manjhi became the 23rd chief minister of Bihar following Nitish Kumar's resignation, who stepped down after his party's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Subsequently, due to a conflict with Nitish Kumar, Manjhi was expelled from the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)). He then established HAM-S, positioning himself as a Dalit leader. Manjhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gaya for the first time and has been appointed as a minister in the third term of the Narendra Modi government.
8. Rajiv Ranjan Singh
Rajiv Ranjan Singh, alias Lalan Singh, is a senior leader of the Janata Dal (United) and a trusted loyalist of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. At 69 years old, he has served as a minister in the state government and is set to become a Union minister from the JD(U), reflecting the chief minister's continued faith in his long-time associate.
Singh hails from the upper caste Bhumihar community in Bihar and began his political career in 1974 as a student, closely aligning with former Chief Minister and socialist leader Karpoori Thakur. He later joined the old Janata Dal family and was among the founding members of the Samata Party, led by Nitish Kumar and former Defence Minister George Fernandes.
9. Giriraj Singh
Giriraj Singh, aged 71, is set to serve his third consecutive term in the Lok Sabha. He was elected from Nawada to the 16th Lok Sabha and re-elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Begusarai, a constituency he successfully retained in 2024. Singh has held various ministerial roles, including the minister of rural development and panchayati raj, and the minister of animal husbandry and fisheries in the Modi 2.0 Cabinet. Additionally, he has served as the minister of cooperative, animal husbandry and fisheries resources development in the NDA government of Bihar.
Singh has a special interest in village development, focusing on agriculture and livestock. He has also explored solar energy initiatives and conducted research on animal feed based on 'Morringa Biomass' with the assistance of scientists at ICAR, Mathura.
10. Chirag Paswan
Chirag Paswan, aged 41, an actor-turned-politician, is the president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Bihar. He entered the 18th Lok Sabha with a remarkable achievement, having won all five seats his party contested in the recent general elections. Paswan, who secured the Hajipur seat, carries forward the legacy of his father, the late Ram Vilas Paswan, a prominent Dalit leader, eight-time Lok Sabha MP, and former Union minister.
Chirag Paswan debuted in films in 2011 with "Mile Na Mile Hum" opposite Kangana Ranaut, now a BJP MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Following an unremarkable Bollywood career, Paswan learned the political landscape from his father before fully immersing himself in politics. Since then, he has made significant strides in his political career.
11. Pralhad Joshi
Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, often referred to as the 'BJP blue-eyed boy,' has once again become a focal point in political discourse as he re-enters the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Born into a traditional North Karnataka Brahmin family in Bijapur on November 27, 1962, Joshi's political journey has been closely aligned with the rise of the BJP in Karnataka. He has represented the Dharwad-Hubballi parliamentary constituency for five consecutive terms. Beginning his political career with the RSS at a young age, Joshi quickly rose through the ranks of the BJP, demonstrating his leadership skills and commitment to public service.
Joshi made his debut in electoral politics in 1996 as a legislator in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Over the years, he built a reputation as a dedicated representative of the people. His election to the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004 marked the start of his national political career, and he was re-elected in 2009, 2014, and 2019, each time with increasing margins.
Joshi's recent re-induction into the Modi Cabinet has not been without controversy. Facing challenges from within his own community, particularly the Lingayat community, Joshi had to navigate a tough electoral battle in his constituency. The entry of the Lingadishwar seer, representing the dominant Lingayat community, posed a significant threat to Joshi's stronghold.
Despite allegations of being anti-Lingayat and accusations of stifling the political aspirations of other communities, Joshi managed to overcome these challenges. With the intervention of influential figures like former Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, Joshi succeeded in securing his position, albeit not without facing criticism and scrutiny.
12. HD Kumaraswamy
Born into the influential Gowda family on December 16, 1959, in Haradanahalli, Hassan district, Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy's life has been a blend of soaring highs and devastating lows. Affectionately known as "Kumaranna" to his followers, he has been a kingmaker, a chief minister, and, as described by a Congress leader, an "unreliable partner who found friends even after betrayals."
The son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy completed his education at the National College in Bangalore. Initially, he did not aspire to enter politics, preferring the film industry, where he produced and distributed Kannada films. However, his family's political legacy soon drew him into the political arena. In 1996, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Kanakapura constituency, marking the beginning of his political career.
Kumaraswamy's political journey took a dramatic turn in 2006 when he executed a surprising manoeuvre in Karnataka state politics. The Assembly elections had left no party with a clear majority. Leading a faction of the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), Kumaraswamy broke away from an earlier agreement with the Congress and allied with the BJP, despite ideological differences. This alliance allowed him to become the chief minister of Karnataka. However, internal strife plagued the coalition, leading to its collapse in 2007 when Kumaraswamy resigned after the BJP accused him of not honouring the power-sharing agreement and withdrew support.
The 2018 state elections set the stage for another dramatic chapter in Kumaraswamy's political saga. The elections resulted in a hung assembly, with no party securing an outright majority. Seizing the opportunity, Kumaraswamy formed a post-poll alliance with the Congress to keep the BJP out of power. Despite ideological differences and historical enmity, the JD(S)-Congress coalition formed the government, with Kumaraswamy once again taking the oath as chief minister. However, this coalition was unstable, with constant threats from internal dissent and external pressures. The relationship between Kumaraswamy and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah was particularly strained, leading to defections that eventually caused the government's collapse in 2019.
In 2023, aiming to make a significant impact, Kumaraswamy declared that the Assembly elections would be his last. This move was not just a retirement plan but a strategic effort to galvanise the party base. The elections were a high-stakes drama, with Kumaraswamy contesting from the Channapatna constituency against BJP's CP Yogeshwara. The tension on election day was palpable, and Kumaraswamy's lead fluctuated, keeping supporters on edge. Ultimately, he won by a margin of 15,915 votes. Despite his personal victory, JD(S) managed to win only 19 out of the contested 204 seats, marking a low point in the party’s history.
In September last year, after a period of political manoeuvring, HD Kumaraswamy entered into an alliance with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Although the alliance did not dramatically change JD(S)’ fortunes, as it contested fewer seats than before, it significantly impacted Congress in south Karnataka.
13. Jyotiraditya Scindia
Jyotiraditya Scindia's induction into PM Modi's council of ministers has solidified his significance within the BJP since his departure from the Congress four years ago. This marks the beginning of his second term in the Cabinet as a member of the saffron party.
In the 2024 general elections, Scindia, 53, achieved a landslide victory from his traditional Guna seat, contesting as a BJP candidate for the first time, with a record margin of over 500,000 votes.
The BJP secured all 29 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, including the Chhindwara seat, the last Congress stronghold from the Kamal Nath family, which the BJP had failed to win in 2019. In 2020, Scindia was first appointed as Union Minister in the Modi government and given the Civil Aviation portfolio after he aided the BJP in toppling the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.
Scindia's political lineage is deeply rooted, with his family having represented Guna for generations. His grandmother, the late Vijayaraje Scindia, and his father, the late Madhavrao Scindia, previously held the seat. Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia was one of the founding members of the Jana Sangh.
Born on January 1, 1971, and educated at Harvard and Stanford, Scindia entered politics after his father's sudden death in a plane crash, winning a by-election in 2002. He went on to secure victories in the general elections of 2004, 2009, and 2014 from Guna as a Congress leader.
He served in the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2007 to 2014, holding positions as Minister of State for Communications, Commerce and Industry, and Power.
Although re-elected from Guna in 2014, he lost the seat in 2019. As the chairman of the Congress campaign committee in the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, he played a crucial role in the party's victory, although the Chief Ministership went to Kamal Nath.
Scindia's discontent with the Congress leadership culminated in his switch to the BJP in 2020. A pivotal moment occurred when 22 Congress Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) loyal to Scindia, including six ministers, resigned, resulting in the fall of the Congress government in his home state. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had noted that the entire Scindia family was now united under the BJP banner.
14. Piyush Goyal
Piyush Goyal, who managed key ministries including Commerce and Industry in the second Modi government, secured his debut Lok Sabha election victory from the Mumbai North constituency with an impressive vote margin. Goyal, 59, has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2010, where he has eloquently articulated the government's position on various issues during debates in the Upper House of Parliament.
Before the elections, Goyal countered Opposition leaders who labelled him an outsider, stating that he was born in Mumbai, studied at HR College and Government Law College, began his Chartered Accountancy practice in Lalbaug, and worked as an investment banker on Nepean Sea Road.
On Sunday, Goyal was reappointed as a Union Cabinet minister, this time as a Lok Sabha member. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Goyal defeated Congress candidate Bhushan Patil from the Mumbai North seat by a substantial margin of 357,608 votes, the highest in the state.
He is the son of BJP loyalists Ved Prakash Goyal and Chandrakanta Goyal. His father served as the minister of shipping in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and as the BJP national treasurer, while his mother was a three-term MLA from Matunga in Mumbai. Piyush Goyal was elevated to Cabinet rank in September 2017.
15. Annapurna Devi
Annapurna Devi, a homemaker with no initial aspirations in politics, was sworn in as Union minister in the Narendra Modi government on Sunday. Her entry into politics came unexpectedly after the sudden death of her husband, Ramesh Yadav, an RJD legislator, in 1998. Propelled by circumstances, she embarked on a challenging and unfamiliar political journey. Her recent induction into the Modi 3.0 government is perceived as the BJP’s strategic move to secure the substantial Other Backward Class (OBC) vote bank ahead of the crucial Assembly elections later this year.
This unforeseen ascent to power has generated significant speculation and interest in political circles. Her first ministerial appointment in 2021 already caused considerable surprise. While it seemed an unexpected decision to outsiders, insiders viewed it as a strategic manoeuvre to strengthen the OBC vote bank in Jharkhand.
16. Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Veteran BJP leader and four-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was sworn in as a minister in PM Modi's Union Cabinet on Sunday.
This marks the first time Chouhan has become a Union Cabinet minister in his political career spanning over three decades.
In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Chouhan campaigned extensively for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. The party secured all 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state, with Chouhan winning the Vidisha seat by a record margin of 821,408 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.
Chouhan received a substantial mandate of 1,116,460 votes, while Congress candidate Pratap Bhanu Sharma secured 295,052 votes, placing him second.
17. Manohar Lal Khattar
Manohar Lal Khattar, a veteran politician, has experienced a remarkable journey from being a RSS worker to becoming the chief minister of Haryana in 2014 and subsequently being replaced by his confidante after a decade. Born in 1954 in Nindana, a village in Haryana's Rohtak district, Khattar's family migrated from Pakistan post-Partition and settled in Haryana.
Khattar joined the RSS as a permanent member in 1977, dedicating 17 years to the organisation before transitioning to the BJP in 1994. His political career took a significant leap in 2014 when he was elected as a MLA for the first time and was subsequently chosen by the BJP to serve as the chief minister of Haryana.
In March 2024, Khattar was succeeded by his confidante Nayab Singh Saini, enabling him to contest his first Lok Sabha election from Karnal. He achieved a resounding victory over Congress candidate Divyanshu Budhiraja, winning by a margin of over 235,000 votes.
Khattar is known to have a close association with PM Modi, with whom he worked in the 1990s within the party organisation. Remaining a bachelor throughout his life, Khattar devoted nearly 40 years as an RSS pracharak before focusing on his political career in the BJP. His tenure with Modi began in 1996 when Modi was the BJP in-charge of Haryana.
18. Dharmendra Pradhan
Senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan, who served as the education and skill development minister in the previous Modi administration, was inducted into the Union Cabinet for the third time on Sunday.
Pradhan, who returned to the Lok Sabha after a 15-year hiatus, secured a victory from Sambalpur in Odisha, defeating the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)'s Pranab Prakash Das by a significant margin of over 119,000 votes.
It remains unclear whether he will retain his portfolio as the education minister, a role in which he was responsible for the implementation of the ambitious new National Education Policy (NEP).
Pradhan, a prominent BJP figure in Odisha, is also considered a potential candidate for the state's first BJP chief minister. This speculation follows the party's success in securing 78 seats in the assembly polls, surpassing the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD.
19. Hardeep Singh Puri
Hardeep Singh Puri, a former diplomat, has been instrumental in the construction of the new Parliament and adeptly steering India through two consecutive oil crises, earning recognition for his impeccable service in challenging ministerial roles.
At 72, Puri continues to serve as the minister for housing and urban affairs and petroleum and natural gas in the outgoing Modi 2.0 government. He was among the ministers sworn in on Sunday in Prime Minister Modi's new administration.
Born in Delhi, Puri is a 1974 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). During his student days at Hindu College, Delhi University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, he was affiliated with the ABVP, a students’ body aligned with the BJP.
Puri officially joined the BJP in January 2014 after retiring from the IFS. He was inducted into the council of ministers as the minister of state (independent charge) for housing and urban affairs in September 2017. In May 2019, he took on the additional roles of minister of state (independent charge) for civil aviation and minister of state for commerce and industry.
In July 2021, Puri was elevated to the Union Cabinet, assuming the roles of minister of petroleum and natural gas alongside housing and urban affairs.
20. Mansukh Mandaviya
BJP grassroots worker Mansukh Mandaviya, who ascended through the party ranks to become the Union health minister during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, was inducted into the Union Cabinet for the second time on Sunday.
Contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time after serving two terms as a Rajya Sabha member, Mandaviya secured a victory from Porbandar in Gujarat, defeating Congress' Lalit Vasoya by a margin of over 380,000 votes.
Nicknamed the “Green MP” for his habit of cycling to Parliament, Mandaviya, 51, has been steadily progressing through the party ranks since his early association with the BJP as a youth.
In the Modi government 2.0, he headed the ministries of health and chemicals and fertilisers.
21. Kiren Rijiju
Kiren Rijiju's political career, marked by tenacity, commitment, and leadership, is a compelling narrative. Born on November 19, 1971, in Nakhu Village, West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju has ascended from humble beginnings to become a significant figure in Indian politics. His career is characterised by numerous key responsibilities, highlighting his unwavering dedication to public service and the development of both his home state and the nation.
After completing his undergraduate studies at Hansraj College, Delhi University, Rijiju pursued a law degree (LLB) from the university’s Faculty of Law. His academic years also saw the cultivation of his physical abilities, with a particular interest in football and badminton, which he continues to enjoy.
Rijiju forayed into politics in 2004, securing a seat in the 14th Lok Sabha representing the Arunachal West constituency. His tenure was marked by a keen focus on his constituents' interests and a commitment to improving governance and infrastructure.
Despite a setback in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Rijiju's perseverance was evident as he joined the Congress and served as an advisor to former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu. His career took a significant turn with his return to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014, Rijiju capitalised on PM Modi's strategic northeast focus, emerging as a pivotal figure in the 'Look East' policy. His role as a crucial representative for Arunachal Pradesh was further solidified by his re-election in 2019.
22. Sarbananda Sonowal
Assam MP Sarbananda Sonowal, a prominent student leader known for his tenacity, was inducted into the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet for the third time on Sunday.
Sonowal's political career includes a tenure as the Minister of State for Sports and Youth Welfare from 2014 to 2016, representing the northeast in the Union Council of Ministers. He later achieved a historic milestone by leading the BJP to victory in Assam, becoming the chief minister. In 2021, he transitioned to the Modi 2.0 government as a Cabinet minister.
Sonowal's political journey, marked by numerous challenges, began in student politics. He initially joined the Asom Gana Parishad, the state's foremost regional party, before switching to the BJP. His dynamic leadership made him Narendra Modi’s choice for Assam’s chief minister when the BJP secured its first win in the northeast in 2016.
During the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP did not project Sonowal or any leader as the chief ministerial candidate. Post-election, Himanta Biswa Sarma, a powerful minister in Sonowal’s Cabinet, was appointed chief minister.
Despite this, Sonowal quickly returned to prominence. He was promoted to the Union Cabinet, overseeing significant portfolios such as Shipping, Waterways, Ports, and Ayush in the same year.
Sonowal, a law graduate and Rajya Sabha MP, is renowned for his integrity and commitment to fighting corruption. He is celebrated for uniting Assam's diverse communities with his vision encapsulated in the phrase ‘Barak-Brahmaputra-Plains-Hills’, symbolising his role as a unifier.
23. JP Nadda
BJP party chief JP Nadda has rejoined the Modi Cabinet. Previously, he served in Narendra Modi's first Cabinet from 2014 to 2019, leading the health ministry. In 2020, he succeeded Amit Shah as BJP chief.
In September 2022, Nadda's tenure as BJP chief was extended, allowing him to serve until the end of June.
Nadda is renowned for his exceptional organisational skills. His political journey began with the ABVP in Bihar. At 31, he became the head of the BJP’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), in 1991.
24. Virendra Kumar
Virendra Kumar, the Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgarh (Scheduled Caste reserved) seat in Madhya Pradesh, was inducted into the Modi 3.0 government on Sunday.
Virendra Kumar, a prominent Scheduled Caste figure in the party, is an eight-time MP who won his fourth consecutive election from the Tikamgarh (SC) seat, which was established during the 2008 delimitation process. Prior to this, he represented the neighbouring Sagar Lok Sabha seat in Bundelkhand for four terms.
Starting his career at a young age, he worked with his father at a cycle puncture repair shop in Sagar before earning a Ph.D. in the subject of child labour. He was appointed women and child development minister for the first time in September 2017.
He was also jailed for 16 months during the Emergency and participated in the 'Sampoorna Kranti Andolan' led by 'Lok Nayak' Jai Prakash Narayan.
25. Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu
TDP MP Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu was sworn in as a minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday.
Representing the Srikakulam Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh, Ram Mohan Naidu is the youngest-ever minister in Modi Cabinet 3.0.
At 36 years old, Ram Mohan Naidu is the son of senior TDP leader and former Union Minister Yerran Naidu. He has been serving as the MP for Srikakulam since 2014, being re-elected thrice.
Continuing a family legacy, Ram Mohan Naidu has surpassed his father's record by becoming the youngest Cabinet Minister in the NDA coalition. His father, Yerran Naidu, was the youngest minister in 1996, assuming the role at 39.
In addition to his ministerial duties, Ram Mohan Naidu has also served as the national general secretary of the TDP and was the party's floor leader in the outgoing Lok Sabha. He was honoured with the Sansad Ratna Award in 2020 for his exceptional performance as an MP.
26. Jual Oram
Jual Oram, 63, has served twice as a Union Cabinet Minister. In his second term as a MP in 1999, he was appointed to head the newly established Ministry of Tribal Affairs after the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government created the ministry by bifurcating the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. He was re-inducted in 2014 when Narendra Modi first assumed power and was again given the tribal affairs portfolio.
In the recent elections, Oram defeated hockey icon and Biju Janata Dal candidate Dilip Tirkey in his traditional base of Sundargarh by over 138,000 votes. Oram, who has won the seat five times between 1998 and 2019, made an emotional appeal during the campaign, referring to it as his “last election”.
Oram's inclusion in the Union Cabinet is also seen as the BJP's effort to strengthen its base among the tribals in Odisha, who constitute around 23 per cent of the population. Oram is also a noted critic of outgoing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
27. Bhupender Yadav
Bhupender Yadav, aged 55, is a key member of Narendra Modi’s core team. Serving as a Union minister in the Modi 2.0 government, Yadav contested Lok Sabha elections for the first time and triumphed over Congress candidate Lalit Yadav. An organisational figure, he gained prominence in 2010 when appointed as the BJP's national secretary. By 2012, he had become a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Yadav played a crucial role in Modi's core team, working tirelessly to secure Modi's victory in the pivotal 2014 elections.
Born in Ajmer and formerly a Supreme Court lawyer, Yadav is known for his close association with Amit Shah. Preferring to work behind the scenes, he typically avoids addressing rallies.
28. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Born on October 3, 1967, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat hails from Rajasthan and has held the position of Union Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Jal Shakti. He represents Jodhpur in the Lok Sabha as a member of BJP.
Shekhawat’s political journey began in 1992 when he was elected president of the Student Union at Jai Narain Vyas University (JNVU), outperforming all previous ABVP candidates. He later ascended to the role of National General Secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha, the farmers’ wing of the BJP, and served on the Rajasthan State Executive of the BJP.
In the 16th Lok Sabha elections of 2014, Shekhawat achieved victory, securing his seat from Jodhpur with a margin of 410,051 votes. A significant highlight of his tenure was the expansion of Jodhpur Airport, addressing a long-standing demand of the region spanning 18 years.
Shekhawat is also renowned for his social media presence, being the most followed Indian politician on Quora, with over 83,749 followers. His answers on Quora have garnered more than 8 million views. Additionally, he has chaired the Fellowship Committee, served on the All India Council of Sports (AICS), and been a member of the Standing Committee on Finance.
29. G Kishan Reddy
BJP Telangana president G Kishan Reddy, who took oath as Union Minister on Sunday for his second term, is a leader who has triumphed over considerable odds, being a first-generation politician from a rural area.
The 64-year-old leader retained the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency with a margin of over 49,000 votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections, defeating his nearest Congress rival, Danam Nagender.
Born to middle-class farmer parents in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana near Hyderabad, he began his political career as an ordinary worker in 1977. He has held significant party positions, including the president of the BJP's state unit and national president of the BJP's Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
As Union minister, he has held the portfolios of home, tourism, culture, and development of the Northeast region and has been a three-time MLA.
Affectionately called 'Kishan Anna' by party workers and leaders, he started his political journey with the Janata Party. He joined the BJP at its inception in 1980 and gradually rose in the party, handling one key responsibility after another.
He was convener of the BJYM Ranga Reddy district committee in 1980-81 and became the state president of BJYM in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 1986.
Kishan Reddy served as national president of BJYM from 2002 to 2004. During his tenure, he founded the World Youth Council Against Terrorism (WYCAT), an apolitical organisation to combat terrorism globally. He organised the International Youth Conference Against Terrorism (IYCT) under WYCAT in New Delhi. He was elected as MLA for the first time in 2004 and subsequently for two consecutive terms in 2009 and 2014.
He also served as president of BJP in undivided Andhra Pradesh from March 2010 to March 2014. Kishan Reddy became the first president of BJP in the newly-formed state of Telangana in 2014. He was also the party's floor leader in the Telangana Legislative Assembly from 2016 to 2018.
30. CR Patil
Gujarat BJP president and Navsari MP CR Patil is among the six MPs from the state inducted into Narendra Modi’s council of ministers on Sunday.
A four-term Navsari MP, Patil has a track record of winning elections by massive margins. In the recent elections, he won by a margin of 773,000 votes — the highest in Gujarat. He won the 2019 polls with a record margin of 689,000 votes. In the 2014 polls, his victory margin was a record in Gujarat and the third highest in the country.
The ministerial berth is widely seen as a reward for Patil, who led the Gujarat BJP unit for nearly four years, during which the party registered a historic victory in the 2022 Assembly elections.
Patil was appointed head of the Gujarat BJP in July 2020, two years before the 2022 Assembly elections, with a clear indication that he had been brought in by PM Modi. However, he was not a favoured choice initially, as Patil came with the tag of being an outsider — his family hailed from Maharashtra.
He was also the first Gujarat BJP president of Maharashtra origin. Nevertheless, he had a firm grip on the state party organisation, and the BJP registered resounding victories in almost all elections held under his leadership.
Within four months of his appointment, the BJP won all eight Assembly constituencies in the by-elections in November 2020. In 2021, the BJP won 31 district panchayats, 200 of 231 taluka panchayats, and 75 of 81 nagarpalikas in the local body elections.
Under Patil’s watch, the entire Vijay Rupani government was ousted and replaced by the Bhupendra Patel government in September 2021. There was not a single voice of dissent from any quarter.
But the best of Paatil’s tenure was yet to come — the 2022 Assembly elections. The BJP, which had only 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly in 2017, was re-elected with a resounding victory in December 2022, winning a whopping 156 seats. The party also surpassed the previous record of 149 seats held by the Congress under Madhavsinh Solanki.
The win was largely attributed to Paatil’s leadership prowess. After being appointed the party president, Paatil declared that the BJP’s target would be to win all 182 seats in the Assembly. He had also introduced the strategy of forming page committees (having a committee of party workers on every page of an electoral roll) to achieve this ambitious target.
As the mastermind behind BJP’s historic wins in Gujarat, Paatil earned the tag of ‘page committee na praneta’ (the pioneer of the page committee). The Navsari MP also remained Gujarat’s power centre as the face of the party even on policy issues.
In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Paatil set the ambitious target of winning all 26 seats with a margin of five lakh votes.
Ironically, the same elections witnessed the lowest point of Paatil’s tenure as the state BJP chief. The party, which had swept all 26 seats since 2014, lost its Banaskantha seat to Congress’s Geniben Thakor. It also faced the Kshatriya ire in the run-up to the polls, following a controversial statement by then Union Minister and Rajput candidate Parshottam Rupala.
(With agency input)