New Delhi: With stage set for swearing-in of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for the third consecutive term on Sunday, speculation is mounting over distribution of ministerial positions.
According to sources, most new joinees of the Modi 3.0 Cabinet, including Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari, have already started getting calls as the PM-designate Narendra Modi is expected to meet his probable ministers and MPs over a cuppa ahead of the oath-taking ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7:15 pm.
“I got a call around 8:35 am today and Nadda ji informed me about the tea party. They also sent me an invite for the swearing-in,” JD(U)’s Ramnath Thakur said, adding that he does not have any favourite ministry.
Two MPs from Odisha, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Jual Oram, are also said to have received calls from the PMO.
An MLA of one term and five-time Member of Parliament, Jual was appointed as India’s first Union Minister for Tribal Affirs under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999. He represented the Sundargarh parliamentary constituency for 3 terms from 1998 to 2004 and again in 2014 and 2019 before being elected again in 2024 elections by defeating hockey star Dilip Tirkey of BJD by a margin of over 1,3 lakh votes.
Vaishnaw was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha with the BJD’s support in February this year. He was serving as the Railway Minister in Modi 2.0 government since 2021.
Dharmendra Pradhan, who recently won from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat in a direct election after a gap of 15 years, is also likely to take oath in the evening. He has been a key part of the Union Cabinet, holding the Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship portfolios. Prior to this, he also served as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
The BJP has registered a stunning victory by pocketing 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. Earlier, names of Baijayant Panda, Aparajita Sarangi, Pradeep Purohit and Sambit Patra were doing the rounds. Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi was also supposedly being considered for an MoS berth.
Sources further said that if Dharmendra is chosen as the first BJP chief minister of Odisha, where the party won 78 of 147 Assembly seats, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra might have to resign to pave way for him to get elected to the Assembly and can be rewarded as a minister at the Centre.
OTHER PROBABLES
Meanwhile, BJP leaders Amit Shah, JP Nadda, BL Verma, Pankaj Chaudhary, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Annapurna Devi, Arjun Ram Meghwal have reached 7, LKM, the residence of Modi, and so also BJP MPs-elect Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra and RLD Chief Jayant Singh Chaudhary to attend the tea meeting.
According to media reports, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Mansukh Mandaviya are likely to get important portfolios. S Jaishankar may also join the Union Cabinet.
Earlier in the day, TDP MP Jayadev Galla posted on ‘X’ that party MP Ram Mohan Naidu will take oath as a cabinet minister, while another MP Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani will be appointed as minister of state in the new ministry.
“No demands, no change in stand on reservation,” Union Minister-designate Naidu told ANI.
Also Read: Swearing-In Today: Check Allies Representation In Modi 3.0 & Foreign, Special Attendees
Three leaders from Karnataka, including former Karnataka CM and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, are likely to be sworn in as ministers.
Other alliance partners expected to receive cabinet berths include Chirag Paswan, Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal Party), Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal), and Jitan Ram Manjhi (Hindustani Awam Morcha).
BJP LEADER IN UNION COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (LIKELY)
Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Piyush Goyal, Mansukh Mandaviya, Arjun Meghwal, Shivraj Singh, K Annamalai, Suresh Gopi, Manohar Khattar, Sarvanand Sonowal, Kiren Rijiju, Rao Inderjeet Singh, Jitendra Singh, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Raksha Khadse, G Kishan Reddy, Hardeep Singh Puri, Giriraj Singh, Nityanand Rai, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Pankaj Choudhary, B L Verma, Annapurna Devi, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Shobha Karandlaje, Harsh Malhotra, Jitin Prasada, Bhagirath Chaudhary, C R Patil, Ajay Tamta, Dharmendra Pradhan, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
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