June 9th 2024.
As the sun sets on Sunday evening, all eyes are on Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi as he prepares to take the oath of office for his second term. The message of continuity is strong as he plans to induct most key members of his previous government into his new Council of Ministers.
Among the familiar faces expected to be sworn in are Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, and S Jaishankar, who held important ministries such as home, defence, finance, and external affairs respectively in the previous government. Other senior members including Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Hardeep Singh Puri will also be a part of the new government.
According to sources, over 65 ministers are likely to take the oath, as seen in the visuals of the meeting Modi had with his potential council of ministers. One surprise omission seems to be Anurag Thakur, the outgoing information and broadcasting minister, who was not invited to the meeting. This is a customary practice by the PM-designate to meet with new ministers before their swearing-in ceremony.
Outgoing ministers Smriti Irani, who suffered a defeat in Amethi, and Parshottam Rupala, who won but made controversial remarks during the elections, are not expected to be part of the new government. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who lost in a close contest, is also likely to be absent.
However, a majority of the previous ministers are set to continue their roles, according to official sources. Along with them, new faces from BJP allies will also be joining the Union Council of Ministers. These include TDP's Ram Mohan Naidu and Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, JD's Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur, Shiv Sena's Prataprao Jadhav, and other members of the National Democratic Alliance such as Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, HD Kumaraswamy, Jayant Chaudhary, Ramdas Athawale, and Anupriya Patel.
Notable BJP leaders like Manohar Lal Khattar, C R Paatil, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Ravneet Singh Bittu will also be among the new faces in the government. The fresh additions to the government are mostly from BJP's allies.
Returning to the government are BJP's Jyotiraditya Scindia, Bhupender Yadav, Pralhad Joshi, Giriraj Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Jitendra Singh, SPS Baghel, Annapurna Devi, Virendra Kumar, Pankaj Chaudhary, Shobha Karandlaje, Krishna Pal Gurjar, and L Murugan. Meanwhile, BJP's G Kishan Reddy, Sukanta Majumdar, Rao Inderjit Singh, Nityanand Rai, and Bhagirath Choudhary are also expected to take on new roles in the government.
Additionally, BJP MPs Jitin Prasada from Uttar Pradesh and Raksha Khadse from Maharashtra have also been invited to join the new government. Khadse has confirmed that she has received a call to be a part of the government.
There is also speculation within the BJP that its national president J P Nadda, whose extended tenure will end this month, may also be brought back into the government. However, he may also be present at the meeting as the head of the ruling party. He was a member of the first Modi government before taking over as the party's national president in 2019.
Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who lost in the Lok Sabha election, is expected to be inducted into the government due to his profile and the BJP's efforts to expand its presence in Punjab. Other expected additions include BJP MP from Ranchi Sanjay Seth and former Union minister and Odisha MP Jual Oram.
All in all, the swearing-in ceremony is set to be a mix of familiar faces and fresh additions, as Modi aims for continuity and unity in his new term as the Prime Minister of India.
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