New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s choices for his Cabinet 3.0 have sprung a surprise and baffled many. Winners have become losers and vice versa.
The first name in this list is Anurag Thakur, among the most prominent faces in the second Narendra Modi government 2.0. The leadership’s decision to bring party chief J P Nadda back to the cabinet cost Thakur a minister role, NDTV quoted sources as saying. Nadda is also from Himachal and the leadership decided that they cannot accommodate two ministers from the hill state, the report added.
Then there is Ravi Shankar Prasad, a veteran BJP leader, former Union minister and a parliamentarian for over two decades. He won from Bihar’s Patna Sahib but did not get a ministerial berth.
Five-time BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy also did not get a minister post despite winning the Saran seat thrice in a row.
Parshottam Rupala, a minister in both the first and second Narendra Modi governments, missed out on a place in Modi 3.0 despite a massive victory in Gujarat’s Rajkot.
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Narayan Rane, former Maharashtra Chief Minister, also lost out on a ministerial berth despite scoring a poll win. A former Shiv Sena and Congress leader, Rane joined the BJP in 2019 and was Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the second Narendra Modi government. A former Rajya Sabha MP, Rane won the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat this time.
L Murugan is the only minister in the outgoing government who has found a place in Modi 3.0 despite losing the election. The former Tamil Nadu BJP chief took the oath despite losing the election from Nilgiris by DMK’s N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj. However, he was inducted into the Union Cabinet again on Sunday.
Murugan was earlier minister of state and handled portfolios such as fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, and information and broadcasting. He is a Rajya Sabha member.
On the other hand, there is Ravneet Singh Bittu, a two-term MP from Punjab on a Congress ticket, who switched to the BJP a few weeks before the general election. BJP fielded him from Ludhiana but he lost to state Congress chief Amarinder Raja Singh Warring. Bittu was chosen for a minister post and took the oath on Sunday. He now needs to get elected to either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha within six months. Notably, Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated by a 1999 attack by Khalistani terrorists.
“…It is a very big thing for me that they (NDA) have chosen me in their cabinet even after losing the elections. Punjab has been given priority this time…I will prepare the ground for BJP to win the Assembly elections in 2027…Just 2 years ago, the people of Punjab rejected Congress, everyone knows the work that AAP is doing. So, people have only one option which is BJP…I would like to become the Chief Minister of Punjab if given a chance…” he told ANI.
