Modi takes oath: Smriti Irani, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Anurag Singh Thakur - heavyweights dropped from Modi 3.0

Modi Cabinet 3.0: Smriti Irani, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Anurag Singh Thakur are among some of the BJP heavyweights who have been dropped from Modi's Cabinet this time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath today for a historic third term. PM Modi has inducted 72 ministers into his Council, including top firepower like Amit Shah, Rajnah Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Nitin Gadakri, and Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Among the other leaders who have been dropped are Nisith Pramanik, Ajay Mishra Teni, Bharti Pawar, Ashwini Choubey, Bhagwat Karat, and Arjun Munda. Besides this, Gen VK Singh and Meenakshi Lekhi, who were part of the Modi 2.0, were denied tickets this time.    
    
Smriti Irani was Minister of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs. She lost the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi to KL Sharma of Congress. Irani was also the Minister of Minority Affairs.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who unsuccessfully contested against Shahi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram, has not found any place in Modi's Cabinet. He served as Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology from July 2021 to June 2024.

Anurag Singh Thakur, who won from Himachal's Hamirpur for a record fifth term, was Minister of Information and Broadcasting; and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.  
    
Arjun Munda, a prominent tribal leader, was Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; and Tribal Affairs. He replaced Narendra Singh Tomar as agriculture minister in December 2023. Munda lost the general elections from Khunti to Congress leader Kali Charan Munda.

Nisith Pramanik, who lost the elections to TMC's Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia in North Bengal's Cooch Behar, has also been dropped from the ministry. He was Minister of State for Home Affairs from July 2021 to June 2024.

Ajay Mishra Teni, who came under scanner over violence during farmers' protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, is another minister to be dropped this time. He lost the Lok Sabha elections to Samajwadi Party's Utkarsh Verma. Teni was Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Modi 2.0.