10 from Uttar Pradesh get ministerial berth in Modi 3.0

Two cabinet ministers and eight ministers of state, one with independent charge, will be part of Mosi’s council of ministers

LUCKNOW: Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party’s disappointing performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the state got a fair share in the Modi 3.0 government, including two cabinet ministers and eight ministers of state, one with independent charge.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajnath Singh takes oath as Cabinet Minister in the Narendra Modi led NDA government, during the swearing-in ceremony at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI)

Rajnath Singh continues to be the face of Uttar Pradesh in the new union cabinet, as he was the first cabinet minister to take the oath after PM Narendra Modi, similar to 2014 and 2019. The second cabinet berth went to Rajya Sabha MP from the state Hardeep Puri, while Rashtriya Lok Dal chief and Rajya Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary took oath as minister of state with independent charge.

Chaudhary had joined the BJP-led alliance just before the Lok Sabha election, terminating his party’s alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

Newly-elected MP from Pilibhit, Jitin Prasad, took oath as Minister of State. The BJP had bestowed faith on Jitin after denying a ticket to Varun Gandhi, who had won the Pilibhit seat in the 2019 election.

Seven-time BJP MP from Maharajganj, Pankaj Chaudhary, also took oath as Minister of State. In the Modi 2.0 government, Chaudhary served as the Union Minister of State for Finance.

BJP’s ally Apna Dal (S) chief and three-time MP from Mirzapur, Anupriya Patel, will hold the charge of Minister of State. In the first Modi government, Anupriya served as the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Health and Family Welfare. In the second tenure of the Modi government, she held the charge of MoS for Commerce and Industry.

Agra MP SP Singh Baghel, securing his fifth term as MP and second consecutive term from the reserved Agra seat, took oath as minister of state. Similarly, Kirti Vardhan Singh, clinching his third consecutive term as BJP MP and fifth term in the Lok Sabha from the Gonda constituency, also took oath as minister of state.

Another Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh to take oath as minister of state was BL Varma, hailing from Badaun district. He previously served as a minister in the Modi 2.0 government.

Kamlesh Paswan, securing his fourth consecutive term as MP from the Bansgaon Lok Sabha seat, also took oath as minister of state. He has held this Lok Sabha seat since 2009.