Modi 3.0 Cabinet: TDP’s Ram Mohan, JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy likely to make the cut

Actor-politician Suresh Gopi, who won the first-ever Lok Sabha seat for the BJP from Kerala is also likely to be part of the Union government.

Gopi had earlier said that he did not want to be a minister but would not deny if he was given any posts in the Cabinet.

From Telangana, BJP state chief and Secunderabad MP G Kishan Reddy, and former state chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay will be inducted into the Cabinet.

According to sources, Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay received phone calls from the Prime Minister’s Office.

They reportedly departed from Kishan Reddy’s residence to attend the tea ceremony hosted at the prime minister’s residence.

.@JaiTDP MPs Ram Mohan Naidu (@RamMNK),
Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani (@PemmasaniOnX), @BJP4TamilNadu Chief @annamalai_k, @JanataDal_S Karnataka chief @hd_kumaraswamy likely to be inducted in Union Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/MYgx0EXivc

— South First (@TheSouthfirst) June 9, 2024

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Two ministers likely from Karnataka

On condition of anonymity, a senior MP from Karnataka told South First that the event is not likely to be a full-fledged swearing-in ceremony.

“Few MPs from JD(U), BJP, TDP & other allies are expected to take oath today along with the Prime Minister,” the MP said.

“In the coming days, after another round of talks with the allies, the names for the remaining cabinet berths will be finalised,” the senior MP said hinting that it will not be a full-fledged Cabinet.

With regard to front-runners from Karnataka for the Cabinet berths, he said: “From Karnataka, only two people are likely to take oath today, JD(S) state chief and former CM HD Kumaraswamy, who won from Mandya seat, and Uttara Kannada MP Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.”

“In the Lingayat quota, former CM Jagadish Shettar and Bagalkot MP PC Gaddigoudar are in the race for the Cabinet post. Likewise, under the SC quota, Bijapur MP Ramesh Jigajinagi and Chitradurga MP Govind Karjol are front-runners.”

“The names are yet to be finalised. However, only two MPs from Karnataka are expected to take oath on Sunday evening,” added the MP.’

Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi, Bangalore North MP Shobha Karandlaje, and Tumakuru MP V Somanna are also expected to take oath as Cabinet ministers.

“Kumaraswamy and Joshi likely to be the Union Ministers, whereas Shobha and Somanna likely to be the ministers of states,” sources said.

Ram Mohan’s team confirms Cabinet post

Meanwhile, Ram Mohan’s team confirmed that he has been selected as a Cabinet minister in the NDA government. He has won from the Srikakulam Lok Sabha constituency of Andhra Pradesh as a TDP candidate.

Born on 18 December, 1987, in Nimmada in Srikakulam, Ram Mohan is the son of former TDP leader and Union minister Yerran Naidu.

He graduated in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in the US and has an MBA from Long Island University, also in the US.

Ram Mohan ventured into politics after the demise of his father in a car accident in 2012.

In 2014, at the age of 26, he contested and won as the Lok Sabha MP from Srikakulam in 2014. He is also the national general secretary of the TDP.

He is considered a politician who breaks stereotypes. His decision to take paternity leave during the 2021 budget session for
his wife’s pregnancy had sparked healthy discussions on gender rights and education.

He has been advocating for menstrual health education and sex education in the Parliament and has actively campaigned for the removal of GST on sanitary pads.

Also Read: EPS says leaders like Annamalai responsible for BJP losing majority

Allies to get representation

Sources have said that allies will get representation in the government in which the BJP is expected to keep key portfolios like home, defence, finance and external affairs.

There are indications that other allies such as Ram Nath Thakur and Lalan Singh of the JD(U), Chirag Paswan of the LJP(R), Jitan Ram Manjhi of HAM(S), Jayant Chaudhary of the RLD are being considered as ministers.

An aide of Manjhi claimed that he had been informed that he would be inducted into the government.

Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal is also likely to be inducted into the Cabinet.

BJP bigwigs like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal and Jyotiraditya Scindia are being seen as natural choices for Cabinet berths besides S Jaishankar.

A source said Nirmala Sitharaman, the outgoing finance minister, Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju, both outgoing ministers as well, will also be taking oath.

Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, had lost the Lok Sabha election but may be inducted due to his profile and the BJP’s continued bid to deepen its footprint in Punjab.

However, there has been no official comment from the BJP on its ministerial choices.

Former chief ministers like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Sarbananda Sonowal are among other obvious contenders in an exercise in which the BJP will have to factor in its shock losses in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to recover its ground.

Many of them met Modi at his official residence.

(With inputs from PTI, Mahesh M Goudar, and Deepika Pasham)