Jitin Prasad was made a ministerImage credit source: PTI
Modi government has been formed for the third time in the country. Along with being sworn in as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has formed a 72-member cabinet. BJP’s Lok Sabha seats have decreased in Uttar Pradesh, due to which Narendra Modi has to run the government with the help of allies. PM Modi has paid special attention to caste and regional balance with UP’s share through the cabinet, but the decline in BJP seats in the state has had a political impact on the cabinet as well. Not only has the number of ministers reduced in the third term of the Modi government compared to the first and second cabinets, it has also had a political impact on caste participation in power.
Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a total of 71 ministers took oath on Sunday, in which 11 ministers including PM Modi have been made from Uttar Pradesh. Rajnath Singh and Hardeep Singh Puri have been made cabinet ministers, while Jitin Prasad and Jayant Chaudhary have been sworn in with independent charge (ministers of state). Apart from this, the remaining seven have become Ministers of State. In UP, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary and Apna Dal (S)’s Anupriya Patel have been given ministerial berths from NDA’s associate quota. During both Modi’s 2014-2019 tenures, 15 ministers each were made from UP, but this time 10 leaders have been made ministers. In this way, the political impact of the reduction of BJP seats in the state is clearly visible on the cabinet.
Uttar Pradesh has held three Lok Sabha elections between 2014 and 2024. The BJP won 71 of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP in 2014 and 62 in 2019, while it won 33 seats in 2024. In this way BJP’s seats kept decreasing from election to election in UP. The direct effect of this was that the BJP lost its majority and now UP’s representation in the cabinet also decreased. This has affected not only the numbers but also the gender participation.
The number of cabinet ministers has decreased
PM Modi has not reduced the share of Thakurs and Dalits in the political equation, but has reduced the representation of many other castes, including OBCs and Brahmins. Due to the defeat of many ministers in the Modi government 2.O cabinet in the Lok Sabha elections, the share of UP has decreased this time. Only two from UP have been made Cabinet Ministers and the rest have been made Independent Charges and Ministers of State. In the last two terms, 4 were Cabinet Ministers and the rest were Ministers of State. In this context only Rajnath Singh and Hardeep Puri have become cabinet ministers from UP this time. Former cabinet ministers Mahendra Nath Pandey and Smriti Irani have lost the elections. Due to this, the number of cabinet ministers has also decreased this time.
Modi government had 15 ministers from UP in 2014 and 15 ministers were made in 2019, but only 10 ministers have been made in 2024. BJP’s low number of seats in Uttar Pradesh has reduced the number of ministers and has also had a political impact on caste representation. This time PM Modi has appointed two Thakur, two Kurmi and two Dalit community ministers. One minister each from the Brahmin, Lodhi, Jat and Sikh communities has been appointed. Due to the appointment of fewer ministers this time, the participation of many castes in the state has decreased.
When 15 ministers from UP were inducted into the first Modi government in 2014, there were two ministers from the Brahmin community – Kalraj Mishra and Mahesh Sharma. Rajnath Singh and General VK Singh from the Thakur community were made ministers while Anupriya and Santosh Gangwar from the Kurmi community were made ministers. Uma Bharti from Lodhi community, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti from Nishad community, Sanjeev Balian from Jat community, Smriti Irani from Parsi community, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from Muslim community, Manoj Sinha from Bhumihar community, Maneka Gandhi from Sikh community and Ram Shankar as Dalit face. Katheria was given the place.
Many castes are not represented
Even when the Modi government was formed for the second time in 2019, 15 ministers were made from UP. The two ministers from the Brahmin community were Mahendra Nath Pandey and Ajay Mishra Teni. There were also two ministers from the Thakur community – Rajnath Singh and General VK Singh. Anupriya Patel and Pankaj Chaudhary from the Kurmi community have been made ministers. Sanjeev Balian from the Jat community, BL Verma from the Lodhi community, Niranjan Jyoti from the Nishad community, Smriti Irani from the Parsi community and Hardeep Puri from the Sikh community became ministers. Three ministers – Bhanu Pratap Verma, Kaushal Kishore and SP Baghel were drafted from the Dalit community.
10 ministers from UP have been given place in the government formed under the leadership of Narendra Modi in 2024. Thus, the number has reduced compared to the last two terms of the Modi government, but at the same time, many castes have not been represented. Rajnath Singh and Kirti Vardhan from the Thakur community have become ministers, the same in 2014 and 2019. Similarly, Anupriya Patel and Pankaj Chaudhary from the Kurmi community have become the ministers, which remain as before. This time the number of Brahmin community has decreased. Jitin Prasad is the only Brahmin minister of UP, while there were two ministers from the Brahmin community in 2014 and 2014.
This time also two people from the Dalit community have been made ministers. In this, SP Singh Baghel has been given a second chance, while Bansgaon MP Kamlesh Paswan has got the seat for the first time. Last time Kaushal Kishore was the minister of this community, but this time he lost the election. Due to which the number of Dalit ministers has decreased by one. The number of Dalit ministers increased from 2014 to 2019, but this time it has decreased by one.
Significance of Oudh and Braj region
In the third term of the Modi government, the highest participation of OBCs has come from UP. A total of 4 OBC faces have been made ministers including the Prime Minister. Apart from Modi, Anupriya Patel and Pankaj Chaudhary from the Kurmi community have been made ministers. Anupriya became the minister for the third time and Chaudhary became the minister for the second time. BL Verma from the Lodhi community and RLG president Jayant Chaudhary as Jat faces have been made ministers. Niranjan Jyoti lost the election so no one from UP got a chance this time from Nishad community. Even the Parsi community could not find a place due to Smriti Irani losing the election.
No one from the Bhumihar community has become an MP from the BJP, due to which no one has got a ministerial post. Hardeep Puri from the Sikh community has a certain place, he is a member of the Rajya Sabha from UP. Although the number of ministers from UP has been reduced in the Modi cabinet this time, special attention has been paid to the regional balance. Despite winning only two seats in Awadh Pradesh, Keerti Vardhan Singh, who won from Gonda, has been honored by making Awadh Pradesh a minister alongside Rajnath Singh, while trying to tap regional and OBC and Dalit factors. Giving a chance to Pankaj Chaudhary and Kamlesh Paswan from Gorakhpur region. No one has been made a minister from Western UP and Bundelkhand. Western UP is governed by Jayant Chowdhury, but the highest three ministers have been made from Braj region.
