Will continue to serve as BJP workers: Leaders not retained in Modi’s council of ministers

They will make “every possible effort” to take the country on the path of progress, Thakur said.

Related: HD Kumaraswamy, Suresh Gopi, Nirmala Sitharaman among ministers

‘An honour to win fifth time’

In the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, Thakur was re-elected to the Lower House of Parliament from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.

“I am a party worker first. The people of Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh have elected me to the Lok Sabha for the fifth consecutive time. Being elected to the Lok Sabha for the fifth time is itself a great honour,” he told reporters in Dekhi, when asked if he would be getting some key responsibility in Himachal Pradesh as he is not being inducted into Modi’s new council of ministers.

Thakur said, “the BJP has given me the opportunity to contest the Lok Sabha polls five times. There cannot be a bigger opportunity than this for me”.

“I worked as a party worker in the past and would continue to work as a party worker in the future. Our entire effort is to take India on the path of progress. All of us will walk together because India is important, the Modi government is important and the country’s progress is important,” he said.

Confusion on retirement

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who was the Minister of State for Information Technology, Electronics, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Jal Shakti in the last Modi government, said in a post on X that his 18-year-long stint in public service had come to an end.

He deleted this post and wrote another clarifying that he meant to say that his 18-year-long stint as an MP and three years as a Minister of State had come to an end.

Chandrasekhar contested the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram seat but lost to Congress’ Shashi Tharoor.

“A tweet – tweeted by a new young intern in my team – thanking everyone for their inspiration and support during these 18 years of public service as MP, has created some confusion among a section of people about my future political work,” he said.

“My work and commitment to taking India forward and Thiruvananthapuram, as a karyakarta of BJP remains as relentless as before. Thank you all who replied/msgd/called,” his new post on X said.

To all those who voted for me in these elections, I had said that as soon as PM @narendramodi ji assumes office as PM for 3rd term, we will start working on problems & issues of people of #Thiruvananthapuram

I have planned a 100 day agenda for TVM that I will work wth PM… https://t.co/TevluTXIzF

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) June 10, 2024

Related: Amit Shah, Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal among 30 Cabinet ministers of Modi government

Irani’s loss 

Smriti Irani, who served as a Union minister in the last two terms of the Modi government, congratulated Modi for creating history by taking oath as prime minister for the third consecutive time.

“Under your decisive leadership, India’s development journey will get new momentum and the resolve to make India a ‘developed India’ by 2047 will get new strength. Many best wishes to ‘pradhansevak’ Modi ji for a bright tenure,” she wrote on X.

In the just concluded polls, Irani lost to Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi seat.

Ashwini Choubey, who was also a minister in the previous government, posted on X a video clip of Modi taking oath as prime minister, with a caption, “The oath is of a glorious India, the resolution is of a developed nation, the voice of 140 crore countrymen”.

(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)