Union Council of Ministers to See New Faces as Modi’s Cabinet Swearing-In Nears
New Delhi: BJP leaders Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Ravneet Singh Bittu are reportedly set to join the Union Council of Ministers, which will be sworn in Sunday evening alongside Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi.
Sources indicate that senior party stalwarts including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Mansukh Mandaviya are expected to retain their positions in the new government.
Others likely to be inducted as ministers include Shiv Sena’s Prataprao Jadhav, BJP’s C R Paatil, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rao Inderjit Singh, Nityanand Rai, Bhagirath Choudhary, and Harsh Malhotra, according to sources.
Modi, continuing his tradition of informal consultations, met with most of these leaders over tea ahead of the Cabinet formation exercise, a practice established since 2014.
Additionally, BJP MPs Jitin Prasada from Uttar Pradesh and Raksha Khadse from Maharashtra are expected to join the new government, with Khadse confirming receiving a call for her inclusion.
Sources also indicate that outgoing ministers such as Nirmala Sitharaman, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Kiren Rijiju will take oath in the new cabinet.
Speculation within the BJP suggests that national president J P Nadda, whose tenure is due to end this month, may also return to the government. Nadda previously served in the first Modi government before assuming leadership of the party in 2019.
Allies including TDP’s Ram Mohan Naidu, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, JD(U)’s Lalan Singh, Ram Nath Thakur, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, H D Kumaraswamy, and Jayant Chaudhary are also under consideration for ministerial positions.
Despite no official confirmation on potential ministers, BJP strategists are mindful of recent electoral setbacks in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra as they finalize their ministerial picks.
