PM Narendra Modi Reshuffles Cabinet

New Delhi: Amidst strong speculations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inducted new ministers in his Cabinet at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Narendra Modi government was expected to bring in nineteen new faces, along with a minor reshuffle in the existing council. The top four – Finance, Home, External Affairs and Defence – were not touched.

Modi will induct 19 new faces in his Council of Ministers and the list shows that the government has kept in mind not just caste, religion and regional representation in mind but also infuse some talented, experienced and well-educated leaders into the team.

PP Chaudhary, SS Ahluwalia, MJ Akbar, Anupriya Patel, Purushottam Rupala, Mahendra Pandey, Vijay Goel, Subash Ram Bhamre, Anil Madhav Dave, Arjun Meghwal, Ramesh Jagjinagi, Jaswant Singh Bhabore, Rajan Gohain, Ajay Tamta, Ramdas Athawale, CR Chaudhary, Krishna Raj and Mansukh Mandavia will take oath at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday at 11 AM.

Three MPs from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand — where elections are due — were chosen by Modi. Mahendra Pandey, a Brahmin; Anupriya Patel, a Kurmi OBC leader from ally Apna Dal; and Krishna Raj, MP from Shahjahanpur, a seat reserved for the Scheduled Caste will be part of Modi’s council of ministers. Ajay Tamta, who represents Uttarakhand’s only reserved seat Almora, will also take oath.

The expansion also focuses on more representation for backward castes and Dalits. Anupriya Patel is a leader of the Kurmi caste. Bhabhor and Kulaste are members of Scheduled Tribes, while Tamta, Ramdas Athalwale, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi and Krishna Raj, a BJP leader from UP, are members of Scheduled Castes.