Anurag Thakur, Smriti Irani to be dropped from Modi 3.0 cabinet?

Most of the union ministers from the previous Narendra Modi-led government, such as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mansukh Mandaviya, and others, were present at the prime minister's residence for the swearing-in ceremony of his third term. However, notable absentees included Anurag Thakur and Smriti Irani. 

Lawmakers who are scheduled to take oath as ministers later in the day were also invited for tea at the PM's residence, a tradition he has maintained since 2014. Thakur, who won the Hamirpur seat in Himachal Pradesh for the fifth time, did not make it to the new cabinet list. 

Irani, who held various positions in the previous cabinets, was excluded from Modi's new cabinet after losing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. There are rumours that she might be nominated as a Rajya Sabha member.

Previous ministers other than Thakur, Irani who may not be repeated

Rajeev Chandrashekar, the former Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, and State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, lost to Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram by a narrow margin. Parshottam Rupala, who was in charge of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, was another notable figure from the previous cabinet.

During the lead-up to the 2024 general election, Rupala found himself embroiled in a controversy involving the Kshatriya community. On March 22, while addressing a rally in Rajkot, Rupala made comments about the former 'maharajas' being under the rule of the British and foreign rulers. This statement sparked anger among the Rajputs, who perceived it as an attack on their community's pride and bravery.

Despite this controversy, Rupala managed to secure a comfortable victory in Rajkot, winning by a margin of 4,84,260 votes against his Congress rival Paresh Dhanani. However, despite his electoral success, Rupala was unable to regain his position in the Union cabinet.

While several leaders have been excluded from the current list, there may be additional additions as the cabinet expands.

In the recently concluded general elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a majority of 293 seats out of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats.

Modi will be sworn in as the prime minister for the third consecutive term, making him the second leader to achieve this feat after India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and his cabinet ministers at 7:15 pm on Sunday at the Forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.