> TRANSPORT & SHIPPING MINISTRY NITIN GADKARI Date & year of birth: May 27, 1956 Constituency: Nagpur, Maharashtra Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No Nitin Gadkari, the former BJP president, defeated seven-time MP and Congress veteran Vilas Muttemwar from the Nagpur con- stituency, which houses the RSS headquarters, in his debut Lok Sabha election. Gadkari, who had to resign as party president in January 2013, in the wake of allegations over his Purti group of companies at a crucial juncture when he was seeking a second term, is now firmly back at the BJP high table. He started his 35-year political career as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and graduated to the RSS and then to the BJP. Till date, he is considered the Sangh’s “blue- eyed boy”. Gadkari’s stint as the public works department (PWD) minister in the Maharashtra government from 1995 to 1999 is significant for his initiative in the infrastructure sector, most notably the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Gadkari brokered peace between sulking leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi on one side and Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh on the other. A successful businessman, he is associated with several compa- nies, co-operatives and sugar plants in Nagpur and the Vidharba region of Maharashtra. Gadkari is also credited to be the brain behind former prime minister A B Vajpayee’s Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania had levelled allega- tions of corruption against Gadkari. He now has clearly put all that behind him, as he starts a new innings as a Union Cabinet minister. > WATER RESOURCES UMA BHARTI Date & year of birth: May 3, 1959 Constituency: Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh Constituencies represented: Jhansi (‘89, ‘91, ‘96); Khajuraho (‘98) Whether held ministerial charge earlier: Yes A few years ago, she had called Narendra Modi “vinash purush”, but on Monday firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharti was one of the 23 parliamentarians who has willingly joined his Cabinet. Bharti won her fourth Lok Sabha election with a margin of 190,000 votes from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. Bharti, 55, was born to a backward peasant family in Dunda village, Madhya Pradesh and her formal education is only up to Class 6. She entered into politics in early 80’s and contested her first election at the age of 25. She lost only to win the Khajuraho seat in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region five years later. She shot into fame for her organising skills and fiery speeches during the controversial Ayodhya-Ram Janmabhoomi movement that resulted in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Atal Bihari Vajpayee appointed Bharti, a sworn celibate, a minister in his council of ministers. Bharti was later sent to Madhya Pradesh to contest Assembly elections and she led a successful campaign against then Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh. She became CM but had to resign within a few months. > HEALTH HARSH VARDHAN Date & year of birth: December 13, 1954 Constituency: Chandni Chowk Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: Held portfolios in Delhi Harsh Vardhan, who has now been rewarded with a ministerial berth at the Centre after a long stint in the Delhi politics, is a doctor. Vardhan’s association with Narendra Modi goes back to the time when Modi was in- charge of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. He is still known to be a close associate of Modi. The former president of the BJP’s Delhi unit started his political career with the RSS and was elected to the first Vidhan Sabha in 1993. He held portfolios of education, health and law in the Delhi government between 1993 and 1998. Vardhan has formerly been the national vice-president and also a member of the national executive of the BJP for many years. Vardhan who has been Delhi BJP Pradesh president four times, was once again made the Delhi unit chief in the run-up to the Assembly poll campaign, which proved fruitful for the party winning 32 out of the 70 seats in the fray. > HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI Date & year of birth: March 23, 1976 Constituency: RS member from Gujarat Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No The actress-turned-politician stands out among BJP members for her meteoric rise within the party ranks. Irani is one of the vice-presidents of the BJP. A Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, Irani is said to be close to Narendra Modi. Although she lost out to Rahul Gandhi from Amethi this time, she had mounted a spirited campaign. Irani contested the elections for the first time on a BJP ticket in 2004 against Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk. She lost the election. Irani was a household name, thanks to her role in popular teleserial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She was appointed national secretary of the party in 2010 and thereafter the president of the BJP Mahila Morcha. In 2011, Irani was appointed as Member of Parliament from Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha and made party vice-president in 2012. Irani, who is perceived as a younger Sushma Swaraj in the Modi camp, has been quite vocal in her stint in the upper House raising issues of women empowerment and crime against women. She is one of younger Cabinet ministers in the Modi government. > MINORITY AFFAIRS NAJMA A HEPTULLA Date & year of birth: April 13, 1940 Constituency: Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No Heptulla is likely to be the oldest member of the Cabinet. She is the grand-niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and related to actor Aamir Khan. She was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1980; she was deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha from 1989 to 2004. Heptulla was at the fore of the Congress’s women and minority leadership in the late ’80s and ’90s. She switched to the BJP in 2004, complaining she was personally humiliated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. In a career spanning about four decades, Heptulla has been part of several parliamentary committees; this will be her first stint as minister. She is the only minister from the Muslim community in the Modi Cabinet. Heptulla, along with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, is one of the two Muslim faces of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha. In 2013, she said it was “a historical fact that during BJP rule in Gujarat, only one communal riot took place and since then, no such incident has taken place there. But in the same Godhra, during the rule of erstwhile Congress regime, 400 riots had occurred.” > RAILWAYS D V SADANANDA GOWDA Date & year of birth: March 18, 1953 Constituency: Bangalore North Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No Sadananda Gowda, shot into fame after assuming the post of chief minister of Karnataka in August 2011, following the resignation of mentor B S Yeddyurappa. He is considered to be an upright and clean politician. As chief minister, he strived hard to improve the image of the party’s government that had been tarnished due to allegations of corruption, mainly on the issue illegal mining in Karnataka. He introduced various schemes such as Sakaala, aimed at providing time-bound services at government offices. However, due to factional feud, the party was voted out of power during the Karnataka Assembly elections during May 2013, and D V Sadananda Gowda was elected as the opposition leader of legislative council. After becoming the CM, his equations with his Yeddyurappa soured. Gowda has never held any positions in the Centre. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Gowda won from Bangalore North by a margin of 229,764 votes against Congress' C Narayan Swamy. This will be his third term in the Lok Sabha after being elected in 2004 and 2009 polls. > HEAVY INDUSTRIES KALRAJ MISHRA Date & year of birth: July 1, 1941 Constituency: Deoria, Uttar Pradesh Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: No Mishra represents the powerful Brahmin lobby in Uttar Pradesh. Mishra has been accommodated as a Minister in the Modi government. He, along with Lalji Tandon, was part of the BJP leadership in Uttar Pradesh that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee nursed. Mishra was upset with Vajpayee for being asked to contest from Deoria; nonetheless, he won from that constituency. Mishra became RSS pracharak for Gorakhpur after having finished his post- graduation in 1963. During the Emergency, he was arrested for 19 months. In 1978, he was elected a Rajya Sabha member; in 1979, he became the president of the Janata Yuva Morcha. After completing his Rajya Sabha term, Mishra returned to state politics. He was elected an MLA in 1983 and came into his own as the party’s organisation man in UP. In 1991, Mishra, along with BJP leaders Kalyan Singh and Rajendra Kumar Gupta, helped the party form a government in Lucknow with full majority. > NOT AVAILABLE ANANT GEETE Date & year of birth: June 2, 1951 Constituency: Raigad (Maharashtra) Whether represented the constituency before: Yes Whether held ministerial charge earlier: Yes When Anant Geete was renominated against NCP minister Sunil Tatkare in Raigad in the Lok Sabha polls, his detractors within Shiv Sena had predicted his defeat. A close confidant of Shiv Sena chief late Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav, Geete prefers to keep a low profile and work for the party. Geete comes from the Kunbi community. He was attacked by party veteran and former leader of opposition in the Assembly Ramdas Kadam for creating a rift between Kunbi and Maratha communities. After his victory, Uddhav appointed him as the Shiv Sena group leader in the 16th Lok Sabha. Before elected for the first time to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996 polls, Geete worked as the Shiv Sena corporator during 1985-1992 in India's richest civic body, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation. He also assumed the post of chairman of the powerful standing committee between 1990 and 1992. During the BJP-led NDA government, he replaced Suresh Prabhu as the union minister for power. > TRIBAL AFFAIRS JUAL ORAM Date & year of birth: March 22, 1961 Constituency: Sundargarh, Odisha Whether represented the constituency before: No Whether held ministerial charge earlier: Yes Oram is one of the vice-presidents of the BJP. He is the party’s Scheduled Tribe face in the Modi Cabinet. He is also the president of BJP’s Odisha unit and, therefore, represents his state as also tribals in the Union Cabinet. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and then in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 from Sundargarh (reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidate) constituency. He is the BJP’s only Lok Sabha candidate who won from Odisha. The rest 20 seats were won by the Biju Janata Dal. Oram, along with Dharmendra Pradhan, will be the two ministers from Odisha in the Cabinet. Pradhan will be a minister of state with independent charge. Born in a poor tribal family at Kendudihi, a village in Odisha's Sundargarh district, Oram created history when he became the first Union tribal affairs minister. Oram has a diploma in electrical engineering and worked for five years with Bhel, before he decided to quit and join politics. RIL’s Mukesh Ambani (left) and Adani Group’s Gautam Adani With Modi’s confidence in him, has his task cut out > FINANCE & DEFENCE ARUN JAITLEY Although Arun Jaitley lost in his Lok Sabha election debut from Amritsar this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confidence in him remained intact. Jaitley, tipped to be the finance minister in the new government, has the task cut out: To make the ailing economy turnaround. He might also be given addi- tional charge of defence. In the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, he had held the portfolio of commerce and industry, stoutly putting forth developing countries’ stand at the World Trade Organization ministerial meet at Cancun in 2003. Jaitley, 61, was born into a Punjabi family. His father was a lawyer. Jaitley graduated from the University of Delhi, in 1977. He was also a successful lawyer. He also held the ministry of law and justice. This background would stand him in good stead at a time when the entire new law — Direct Taxes Code — is to be worked upon, the fate of Goods and Services Tax hangs in balance, a stance is to be made clear on retro- spective amendments to the Income Tax Act and hence Vodafone tax row. In the earlier NDA ministry, Jaitley also held the portfolio of minister of state for disinvest- ment, now a department which would come under him if he becomes the finance minister. As the defence minister, he will have to take a call on the opposition by the previous minister, A K Antony, on an increase in the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap on defence manufacturing from 26 per cent. His experience as a former commerce minister would help him find the way. Besides, there is demand of a rise in defence expen- diture from ~2.24 lakh crore, pegged in the interim Budget for 2014-15. As the finance minister, Jaitley would be in a better position to balance the demand and constraints on resources. DATE OF BIRTH: Dec 28, 1952 CONSTITUENCY: Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat PREVIOUS TERMS: 2000-2005, 2006-2011 and from 2012 MINISTERIAL CHARGE HELD EARLIER: MoS (Ind.) for I&B (Oct ’99- Sep’00); Disinvestment (Dec ’99-Jul ’00); Law (Jul ’00-Nov ’00); Union minister for Law (Nov ’00-Jul ’02); Shipping (Nov ’00-Sep ’01); Commerce (Jan ’03-May ’04) Arun Jaitley after taking the oath A seasoned politician and RSS favourite > HOME MINISTRY B haratiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh is known to be one of the “most cunning” politicians, having swiftly worked his way up in the party. With an eye on the prime min- isterial post, he placed his bets on former Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, whom he had expelled from the party’s parliamentary board (the highest deci- sion-making body) during his first presi- dential stint from 2005 to 2009. Singh, according to party sources, thou- ght he would be the natural choice for the prime minister’s post should the BJP fail to get a majority on its own. Singh became the BJP president as a compromise candi- date. Since the sparring factions within the BJP and its progenitor, the Rashtriya Swaya- msevak Sangh could not agree on any oth- er name, after then party president Nitin Gadkari resigned following allegations of corruption, they had to settle on Singh. Singh, 63, became a member of the RSS at 13 and was elected from the Mirzapur Assembly seat in 1977. Singh, who used to teach Physics, became education minister in the UP government in 1991, state party president in 1997, and Union cabinet min- ister for surface transport in 1999. He was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2000 to 2002. Singh is a strong sup- porter of construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site. Of late, he seemed to have distanced himself from the old guard (L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi) of the BJP and emerged as a close confident of Modi. Though he doesn’t enjoy much ground support in his state, he continues to be a favourite of the RSS. RAJNATH SINGH has distanced himself from veterans L K Advani & M M Joshi DATE OF BIRTH: July 10, 1951 CONSTITUENCY: Lucknow LOK SABHA CONSTITUENCIES REPRESENTED IN THE PAST: Ghaziabad (2009-2014) WHETHER HELD MINISTERIAL CHARGE EARLIER: Union surface transport minister (1999-2000); Union agriculture minister (2003-2004); chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (2000-2002) Rajnath Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee exchange greetings after the BJP president was sworn in at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday THE SWEARING-IN Rajan Mittal (left) and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Sonia Gandhi (left) with L K Advani Portfolios mentioned for all ministers are based on media reports. No official announcement on distribution of portfolios was made as at the time of going to press; Text: BS Reporters; Pics: Sanjay K Sharma & PTI
WWhheetthheerr rreepprreesseenntteedd tthhee ccoonnssttiittuueennccyy bbeeffoorree:: No
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
Nitin Gadkari, the former BJP president, defeated seven-time MPand Congress veteran Vilas Muttemwar from the Nagpur con-stituency, which houses the RSS headquarters, in his debut LokSabha election.Gadkari, who had to resign as party president in January 2013,in the wake of allegations over his Purti group of companies ata crucial juncture when he was seeking a second term, is nowfirmly back at the BJP high table. He started his 35-year political career as a member of the AkhilBharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and graduated to the RSS andthen to the BJP. Till date, he is considered the Sangh’s “blue-eyed boy”. Gadkari’s stint as the public works department (PWD) ministerin the Maharashtra government from 1995 to 1999 is significantfor his initiative in the infrastructure sector, most notably theMumbai-Pune expressway. Gadkari brokered peace between sulking leaders L K Advani,Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi on one side andNarendra Modi and Rajnath Singh on the other. A successful businessman, he is associated with several compa-nies, co-operatives and sugar plants in Nagpur and the Vidharbaregion of Maharashtra. Gadkari is also credited to be the brain behind former primeminister A B Vajpayee’s Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. Anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania had levelled allega-tions of corruption against Gadkari. He now has clearly put allthat behind him, as he starts a new innings as a Union Cabinetminister.
> WATER RESOURCES
UMA BHARTIDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh::May 3, 1959
A few years ago, she had called NarendraModi “vinash purush”, but on Mondayfirebrand BJP leader Uma Bharti was one ofthe 23 parliamentarians who has willinglyjoined his Cabinet. Bharti won her fourth LokSabha election with a margin of 190,000votes from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. Bharti, 55,
was born to a backward peasant family in Dunda village,Madhya Pradesh and her formal education is only up to Class 6.She entered into politics in early 80’s and contested her firstelection at the age of 25. She lost only to win the Khajuraho seatin Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region five years later. Sheshot into fame for her organising skills and fiery speechesduring the controversial Ayodhya-Ram Janmabhoomimovement that resulted in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in1992. Atal Bihari Vajpayee appointed Bharti, a sworn celibate, aminister in his council of ministers. Bharti was later sent toMadhya Pradesh to contest Assembly elections and she led asuccessful campaign against then Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh.She became CM but had to resign within a few months.
WWhheetthheerr rreepprreesseenntteedd tthhee ccoonnssttiittuueennccyy bbeeffoorree:: No
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: Held portfolios inDelhi
Harsh Vardhan, who has now been rewardedwith a ministerial berth at the Centre after along stint in the Delhi politics, is a doctor.Vardhan’s association with Narendra Modigoes back to the time when Modi was in-charge of Punjab, Haryana and HimachalPradesh. He is still known to be a close
associate of Modi. The former president of the BJP’s Delhi unitstarted his political career with the RSS and was elected to thefirst Vidhan Sabha in 1993. He held portfolios of education,health and law in the Delhi government between 1993 and1998. Vardhan has formerly been the national vice-presidentand also a member of the national executive of the BJP for manyyears. Vardhan who has been Delhi BJP Pradesh president fourtimes, was once again made the Delhi unit chief in the run-upto the Assembly poll campaign, which proved fruitful for theparty winning 32 out of the 70 seats in the fray.
WWhheetthheerr rreepprreesseenntteedd tthhee ccoonnssttiittuueennccyy bbeeffoorree:: No
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
The actress-turned-politician stands outamong BJP members for her meteoric risewithin the party ranks. Irani is one of thevice-presidents of the BJP. A Rajya Sabhamember from Gujarat, Irani is said to be closeto Narendra Modi. Although she lost out toRahul Gandhi from Amethi this time, she had
mounted a spirited campaign. Irani contested the elections forthe first time on a BJP ticket in 2004 against Kapil Sibal fromChandni Chowk. She lost the election. Irani was a householdname, thanks to her role in popular teleserial Kyunki Saas Bhi
Kabhi Bahu Thi. She was appointed national secretary of theparty in 2010 and thereafter the president of the BJP MahilaMorcha. In 2011, Irani was appointed as Member of Parliamentfrom Gujarat to the Rajya Sabha and made party vice-presidentin 2012. Irani, who is perceived as a younger Sushma Swaraj inthe Modi camp, has been quite vocal in her stint in the upperHouse raising issues of women empowerment and crimeagainst women. She is one of younger Cabinet ministers in theModi government.
> MINORITY AFFAIRS
NAJMA A HEPTULLADDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh::April 13, 1940
CCoonnssttiittuueennccyy:: Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh
WWhheetthheerr rreepprreesseenntteedd tthhee ccoonnssttiittuueennccyy bbeeffoorree:: No
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
Heptulla is likely to be the oldest member ofthe Cabinet. She is the grand-niece ofMaulana Abul Kalam Azad and related toactor Aamir Khan. She was first elected to theRajya Sabha in 1980; she was deputychairperson of the Rajya Sabha from 1989 to2004. Heptulla was at the fore of the
Congress’s women and minority leadership in the late ’80s and’90s. She switched to the BJP in 2004, complaining she waspersonally humiliated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. In acareer spanning about four decades, Heptulla has been part ofseveral parliamentary committees; this will be her first stint asminister. She is the only minister from the Muslim communityin the Modi Cabinet. Heptulla, along with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,is one of the two Muslim faces of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha. In2013, she said it was “a historical fact that during BJP rule inGujarat, only one communal riot took place and since then, nosuch incident has taken place there. But in the same Godhra,during the rule of erstwhile Congress regime, 400 riots hadoccurred.”
> RAILWAYS
D V SADANANDA GOWDADDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh::March 18, 1953
CCoonnssttiittuueennccyy:: Bangalore North
WWhheetthheerr rreepprreesseenntteedd tthhee ccoonnssttiittuueennccyy bbeeffoorree:: No
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
Sadananda Gowda, shot into fame afterassuming the post of chief minister ofKarnataka in August 2011, following theresignation of mentor B S Yeddyurappa. He isconsidered to be an upright and cleanpolitician. As chief minister, he strived hardto improve the image of the party’s
government that had been tarnished due to allegations ofcorruption, mainly on the issue illegal mining in Karnataka. Heintroduced various schemes such as Sakaala, aimed atproviding time-bound services at government offices.However, due to factional feud, the party was voted out ofpower during the Karnataka Assembly elections during May2013, and D V Sadananda Gowda was elected as the oppositionleader of legislative council. After becoming the CM, hisequations with his Yeddyurappa soured. Gowda has never heldany positions in the Centre. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,Gowda won from Bangalore North by a margin of 229,764 votesagainst Congress' C Narayan Swamy. This will be his third term inthe Lok Sabha after being elected in 2004 and 2009 polls.
> HEAVY INDUSTRIES
KALRAJ MISHRADDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: July 1, 1941
CCoonnssttiittuueennccyy:: Deoria, Uttar Pradesh
WWhheetthheerr rreepprreesseenntteedd tthhee ccoonnssttiittuueennccyy bbeeffoorree:: No
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
Mishra represents the powerful Brahminlobby in Uttar Pradesh. Mishra has beenaccommodated as a Minister in the Modigovernment. He, along with Lalji Tandon,was part of the BJP leadership in UttarPradesh that former prime minister AtalBihari Vajpayee nursed. Mishra was upset
with Vajpayee for being asked to contest from Deoria;nonetheless, he won from that constituency. Mishra becameRSS pracharak for Gorakhpur after having finished his post-graduation in 1963. During the Emergency, he was arrested for19 months. In 1978, he was elected a Rajya Sabha member; in1979, he became the president of the Janata Yuva Morcha. Aftercompleting his Rajya Sabha term, Mishra returned to statepolitics. He was elected an MLA in 1983 and came into his own asthe party’s organisation man in UP. In 1991, Mishra, along withBJP leaders Kalyan Singh and Rajendra Kumar Gupta, helpedthe party form a government in Lucknow with full majority.
> NOT AVAILABLE
ANANT GEETEDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: June 2, 1951
When Anant Geete was renominated againstNCP minister Sunil Tatkare in Raigad in the LokSabha polls, his detractors within Shiv Senahad predicted his defeat. A close confidant ofShiv Sena chief late Bal Thackeray and his sonUddhav, Geete prefers to keep a low profileand work for the party. Geete comes from the
Kunbi community. He was attacked by party veteran andformer leader of opposition in the Assembly Ramdas Kadam forcreating a rift between Kunbi and Maratha communities. Afterhis victory, Uddhav appointed him as the Shiv Sena groupleader in the 16th Lok Sabha. Before elected for the first time tothe 11th Lok Sabha in 1996 polls, Geete worked as the Shiv Senacorporator during 1985-1992 in India's richest civic body, theBrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation. He also assumed thepost of chairman of the powerful standing committee between1990 and 1992. During the BJP-led NDA government, hereplaced Suresh Prabhu as the union minister for power.
Oram is one of the vice-presidents of the BJP.He is the party’s Scheduled Tribe face in theModi Cabinet. He is also the president of BJP’sOdisha unit and, therefore, represents hisstate as also tribals in the Union Cabinet. Hewas first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 andthen in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 from
Sundargarh (reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidate)constituency. He is the BJP’s only Lok Sabha candidate who wonfrom Odisha. The rest 20 seats were won by the Biju Janata Dal.Oram, along with Dharmendra Pradhan, will be the twoministers from Odisha in the Cabinet. Pradhan will be a ministerof state with independent charge. Born in a poor tribal family atKendudihi, a village in Odisha's Sundargarh district, Oramcreated history when he became the first Union tribal affairsminister. Oram has a diploma in electrical engineering andworked for five years with Bhel, before he decided to quit andjoin politics.
RIL’s Mukesh Ambani (left) and Adani Group’s Gautam Adani
With Modi’s confidence inhim, has his task cut out> FINANCE & DEFENCE
ARUN JAITLEYAlthough Arun Jaitley lost in his Lok Sabha electiondebut from Amritsar this year, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s confidence in him remained intact.Jaitley, tipped to be the finance minister in the newgovernment, has the task cut out: To make the ailingeconomy turnaround. He might also be given addi-tional charge of defence.
In the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA)regime, he had held the portfolio of commerce andindustry, stoutly putting forth developing countries’stand at the World Trade Organization ministerial meetat Cancun in 2003.
Jaitley, 61, was born into a Punjabi family. His fatherwas a lawyer. Jaitley graduated from the University ofDelhi, in 1977. He was also a successful lawyer. He alsoheld the ministry of law and justice.
This background would stand him in good stead ata time when the entire new law — Direct Taxes Code —is to be worked upon, the fate of Goods and Services Taxhangs in balance, a stance is to be made clear on retro-spective amendments to the Income Tax Act and henceVodafone tax row. In the earlier NDA ministry, Jaitleyalso held the portfolio of minister of state for disinvest-ment, now a department which would come underhim if he becomes the finance minister.
As the defence minister, he will have to take a call on
the opposition by the previous minister, A K Antony, onan increase in the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap ondefence manufacturing from 26 per cent. His experienceas a former commerce minister would help him find theway. Besides, there is demand of a rise in defence expen-diture from ~2.24 lakh crore, pegged in the interimBudget for 2014-15. As the finance minister, Jaitleywould be in a better position to balance the demand andconstraints on resources.
DATE OF BIRTH:Dec 28, 1952
CONSTITUENCY:Rajya Sabha MPfrom Gujarat
PREVIOUS TERMS:2000-2005,2006-2011 andfrom 2012
MINISTERIALCHARGE HELDEARLIER: MoS(Ind.) for I&B (Oct’99- Sep’00);Disinvestment(Dec ’99-Jul ’00);Law (Jul ’00-Nov’00); Unionminister for Law(Nov ’00-Jul ’02);Shipping (Nov’00-Sep ’01);Commerce (Jan’03-May ’04)
Arun Jaitley after taking the oath
A seasoned politicianand RSS favourite > HOME MINISTRY
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)President Rajnath Singh isknown to be one of the “mostcunning” politicians, havingswiftly worked his way up in
the party. With an eye on the prime min-isterial post, he placed his bets on formerGujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,whom he had expelled from the party’sparliamentary board (the highest deci-sion-making body) during his first presi-dential stint from 2005 to 2009.
Singh, according to party sources, thou-ght he would be the natural choice for theprime minister’s post should the BJP fail toget a majority on its own. Singh becamethe BJP president as a compromise candi-date. Since the sparring factions within theBJP and its progenitor, the Rashtriya Swaya-msevak Sangh could not agree on any oth-er name, after then party president NitinGadkari resigned following allegations ofcorruption, they had to settle on Singh.
Singh, 63, became a member of the RSSat 13 and was elected from the MirzapurAssembly seat in 1977. Singh, who used toteach Physics, became education ministerin the UP government in 1991, state partypresident in 1997, and Union cabinet min-ister for surface transport in 1999.
He was chief minister of Uttar Pradeshfrom 2000 to 2002. Singh is a strong sup-porter of construction of a Ram temple atthe disputed site. Of late, he seemed to havedistanced himself from the old guard (L.K.Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi) of theBJP and emerged as a close confident ofModi. Though he doesn’t enjoy muchground support in his state, he continues tobe a favourite of the RSS.
RAJNATH SINGH has distanced himself from veterans L K Advani & M M JoshiDATE OF BIRTH:July 10, 1951
CONSTITUENCY:Lucknow
LOK SABHACONSTITUENCIESREPRESENTED INTHE PAST:Ghaziabad(2009-2014)
Rajnath Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee exchange greetings after the BJPpresident was sworn in at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday
THESWEARING-IN
Rajan Mittal (left) and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Sonia Gandhi (left) with L K Advani
Portfolios mentioned for all ministers are based on media reports. No official announcement on distribution of portfolios was made as at the time of going to press; Text: BS Reporters; Pics: Sanjay K Sharma & PTI
> FOOD, CIVIL SUPPLIES, CONSUMER AFFAIRS
RAM VILAS PASWANDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: July 5, 1946
Ram Vilas Paswan, the chief of the LokJanshakti Party (LJP), is back in the LokSabha. The LJP chief’s Dalit credentialshelped him to tie up with the BJP in a pre-poll alliance ditching the UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA), as NarendraModi was keen to reach out to Dalits.
Paswan is known to be politically astute often derided as a“political opportunist”: He has served as Union minister indifferent governments from the United Front, the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA) to the United Progressive Alliance(UPA). In 2004, he had parted ways with the NDA andaligned with the Congress-led alliance. Riding on the Modiwave, the LJP has won six seats from Bihar this time. He wasUnion minister of labour and welfare in the V P Singhgovernment in 1989. In 1996, he became the Union railwayminister and was in office till 1998. Subsequently, he wasUnion communications minister from October 1999 toSeptember 2001, after which he was coal and minesminister till April 2002. His constituency, Hajipur, a reservedconstituency from where he has won eight times hasbenefited from his largesse during his several stints at theCentre with a Zonal railway headquarters and severalCentral institutes. In 2009, he had lost to the Janata Dal(United)’s Ram Sundar Das, a former chief minister, by37,954 votes in 2009.
> CHEMICALS & FERTILISER
ANANTH KUMARDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: July 22, 1959
CCoonnssttiittuueennccyy:: Bangalore South constituency
Kumar is a six-time Lok Sabha MP,winning consecutively from BangaloreSouth constituency from 1996. He wassecretary of the Akhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad from 1982 to 1985, its nationalsecretary from 1985 to 1987, secretary ofthe BJP in Karnataka and then general
secretary from 1988 to 1995. Currently, he is one of theparty's national general secretaries. In the 1998-2004 NDAgovernment, Kumar was cabinet minister for Culture, YouthAffairs and Sports; then of Tourism and Culture and lateralso handled the Urban Development and PovertyAlleviation portfolio, with the additional charge of RuralDevelopment. Kumar is known to be close to veteran leaderL K Advani, as also Sushma Swaraj. His entry into the cabinetis clearly Modi's effort to keep the Advani camp in goodhumour. What has also worked for Kumar is that his rival, BS Yeddyurappa, has been asked to focus on Karnataka.Kumar has also been embroiled in controversies. In August2005, a public interest suit by lawyer Prashant Bhushanalleged Kumar when minister had misused public funds forpaying his mobile telephone bills and for other privateexpenditure. Lawyer R K Anand, also a Congress partymember, alleged Kumar was one of the contacts of lobbyistNiira Radia. The Aam Aadmi Party listed Kumar as one ofIndia's most corrupt in early 2014 and Kumar filed adefamation case against AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.
> FOOD PROCESSING
HARSIMRAT KAUR BADALDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: July 25, 1966
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
Harsimrat Kaur Badal is an MP fromBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s long timealliance partner the Shiromani Akali Dal.Badal who was born on July 25, 1966, isthe wife of Deputy Chief Minister of PunjabSukhbir Singh Badal. Re- elected fromBathinda constituency, Badal successfully
defeated a four-party combine (Peoples Party of Punjab(PPP), Congress, CPI and the SAD-Longowal) led by herhusband’s cousin Manpreet Badal. Badal, the daughter-in-law of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, was firstelected to the Lok Sabha in 2009. Not only has she beenmarried into a political family, her brother Bikram SinghMajithia, is an Akali MLA from Majitha.
> NOT AVAILABLE
THAWAR CHAND GEHLOTDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: May 18, 1948
The Deputy Leader of Opposition in the RajyaSabha till now, Ravi Shankar Prasad, amember of the BJP’s national executive, wasborn on August 30, 1954. Prasad, who is also adistinguished senior advocate in theSupreme Court, has rendered his legalservices to the party representing senior
leaders as well as filing a petition on behalf of “Ram Lalla” inthe Ram Janmabhoomi case. The BJP leader from Bihar, whohas had three terms from the Rajya Sabha, has had severalstints as Union minister. He became the minister of state forcoal and mines in 2001 in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.Later, he was given additional charge of the ministry of law andjustice in 2003. As minister of state (independent charge) for theinformation and broadcasting ministry, he was instrumental ininitiating reforms in the radio and television industry. He iscredited with establishing Goa as the location of theInternational Film Festival of India. Prasad, who started hispolitical career as a student leader in the 1970s during the JPmovement, was imprisoned during the Emergency.
Maneka Gandhi, the other Gandhi daughter-in-law, has not got the Union environmentministry, a post she has held before and hasretained the passion for ever since. UnderNarendra Modi, she has done one better, islikely to be appointed a cabinet minister incharge of Human Resource Development, a
portfolio the BJP has always given importance and weightageto. Maneka has seen a lot in her tumultuous personal andpolitical life and seen it early. Born in August 26, 1956, Maneka,finishing her college in Delhi, marrying Sanjay Gandhi in 1974,widowed at the age of 23 in 1980, falling out with her mother-in-law to form a political outfit in 1983, she became a Unionminister at just 33 in 1989. She was given the environmentministry with an independent charge as minister of state. Shegrabbed that chance, to carve a niche for herself in the Delhicircles and beyond as an avid animal rights activist. At the sametime, she nurtured her pocket-borough Pilibhit ensuring thatshe is now veteran seven-time MP having lost from her baseonly once in 1991 and vacating it in 2009 for her son to win fromAonla instead. Her son Varun Gandhi won Pilibhit in 2009.
WWhheetthheerr rreepprreesseenntteedd tthhee ccoonnssttiittuueennccyy bbeeffoorree:: No
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
From an activist of the Akhil BharatiyaVidyarthi Parishad to union minister,Gopinath Munde has come a long way.Munde was first elected to the MaharashtraAssembly from Renapur constituency in Beedin 1980 but lost in the 1985 elections. He wasre-elected from the constituency in 1990. He
entered the Lok Sabha in 2009 and was appointed as BJP'sdeputy leader in the lower House. Munde belongs to backwardVanjari community. The BJP is expected to go to state Assemblyelections under Munde's leadership. Munde, along with ShivSena supremo late Bal Thackeray, is recognised as the gamechanger for the saffron alliance to dislodge the Congress ruleand form the first saffron alliance government in 1995. He wasDeputy Chief Minister during the Sena-BJP rule during 1995-99and held ministries of home, power, irrigation. Sidelined by theparty and the rising rift with Nitin Gadkari, Munde had stagedrebellion twice to assert his position but he was calmed downby L K Advani and others. Though Munde and Pawar are rivals,they have one thing in common — their date of birth isDecember 12. RSS stalwart late Vasantrao Bhagwat and latePramod Mahajan had suggested Munde's name to lead theMaharashtra unit in 1980. However, Munde succeeded intransforming BJP's image as a party of upper castes.
> CIVIL AVIATION
ASHOK GAJAPATHI RAJUDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: June 16, 1951
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju is a senior politician and politburomember of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). This is the first time he hadbeen elected to the Lok Sabha. He was elected from the Vizianagaramparliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh with a margin of 106,991votes. Prior to being elected as MP, had been a member of the stateLegislative Assembly for seven times. Raju started his political career in1978 as a Janata Party MLA. He won the subsequent elections in 1983,
1985, 1989, 1994 and 2009 from Vizianagaram Assembly segment as a TDP candidate. Hewas defeated only once in the 2004 Assembly polls. During his political career spanningover 35 years, Raju had been a minister for excise and commercial taxes in the Cabinet ofTDP founder N T Rama Rao. He held the portfolio of finance and legislative affairs duringthe chief ministership of Chandrababu Naidu. In 1989-90, he had also been the generalsecretary of TDP. Throughout his political career, he was known for honesty.
The 63-year-old Raju comes from the Pusapati royal family, who have been the rulers ofVizianagaram. He studied up to PUC and had been a student of Hyderabad Public School.According to the official website of the AP Legislature, Raju's profession is agriculture andhe has a special interest in antique cars.
> NOT AVAILABLE
NARENDRA SINGH TOMARDDaattee && yyeeaarr ooff bbiirrtthh:: June 12, 1957
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggee eeaarrlliieerr:: No
Tomar is a second-time MP to the Lok Sabha.He was also a Rajya Sabha member briefly in2009. Tomar started as a youth activist for theBJP in Madhya Pradesh, rising to become theparty’s state president and was part of NitinGadkari’s team of national generalsecretaries. Tomar was an MLA from 1998 to
2008 and a cabinet minister in the BJP governments in Bhopalfrom 2003 onwards. He continues to be the state partypresident. Tomar is known to be close to current MP ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He along with Sushma Swarajand Thaawar Chand Gehlot are the three cabinet ministers fromMadhya Pradesh in the Modi government
WWhheetthheerr hheelldd mmiinniisstteerriiaall cchhaarrggeeeeaarrlliieerr:: No
Singh, hails fromthe powerfulRajputcommunity inBihar, and hasbeen the Biharstate unit
president of the BJP in the past. Heis a five-time Lok Sabha MP –elected in 1989, 1996, 1999, 2009and now 2014. Singh, was the vicepresident of the BJP’s kisanmorcha in 2009. An MP from EastChamparan, he has a clean image.
The man of similes maysteer business in the House> PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS
M VENKAIAH NAIDUNaidu describes himself as someone froma farming community. During his politicalcareer, he has taken up the cause of farmersfrequently. Famous for his oratorical skillsfrom his days as a youth leader, he has beenthe BJP’s pre-eminent leader from southernIndia since the ’80s.
Naidu was a Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) volunteer and later joined theBJP’s student wing, the Akhil BharatiyaVidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was impris-oned under the Maintenance of InternalSecurity Act during the Emergency — from1975 to 77. Naidu was an MLA from 1978 to1983, president of the All India BJP youthwing from 1980 to 1985, state president ofAndhra Pradesh BJP from 1993 to 2000,and BJP national general-secretary in 1998.
He was the party spokesman from 1996to 2000, bringing to the job his panache forquirky alliterations and similes. Unlikemost politicians from southern India,Naidu made an effort to master Hindi,going on to address public rallies in north-ern India.
He was elected the BJP president for a
three year term— from 2002 —, but quit in2004 when the National DemocraticAlliance lost power in that year’s Lok Sabhaelections. He was succeeded by L K Advani.
As rural development minister, Naidu wascredited with initiating and effective imple-mentation of the ‘pradhanmantri gramsadak yojana’
DATE & YEAR OFBIRTH:July 1, 1949
CONSTITUENCY:RS MP fromAndhra Pradesh
WHETHERREPRESENTED THECONSTITUENCYBEFORE: No
WHETHER HELDMINISTERIALCHARGE EARLIER:Minister for RuralDevelopment inthe NDAgovernment
Once the youngest Cabinetminister, nowa veteran
> EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Sushma Swaraj, formerLeader of the Oppositionin Parliament, has goodadministrative experi-ence. She had handled
many important portfolios.Swaraj’s big task this time, besidesbeing a part of the government,will be to build bridges with theman who is, in a sense, her boss,Prime Minister Narendra Modi.She has been critical of him andsome of his decisions. This maymean that she will not have hisears as much as young womenleaders such as Smriti Irani.
When Nitin Gadkari resignedas the president of the BJP, Swarajwas asked to replace him; shedeclined. That might have been atactical error: Had she taken thejob then, it would have beenSwaraj leading the party into vic-tory. Who knows what might havebeen in store.
Swaraj is respected in party cir-cles and known widely outside it.If the BJP has a serious feminist, ithas to be Swaraj. It was after acampaign she fought long andhard within the organisation thata third of all party posts werereserved for women. Havinggrown up in a Sangh family, Swarajbegan her political journey fromthe Akhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad or ABVP. She marriedSwaraj Kaushal, a socialist, andcame in contact with many social-ist leaders.
SUSHMA SWARAJ, who was critical of Modi earlier, will have to build bridges with him
Sushma Swaraj (right) greets President Pranab Mukherjee during theswearing-in ceremony
BJP’s L K Advani with Anil Ambani and his mother Kokilaben BJP’s Amit Shah (right) with SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav Congress’ P Chidambaram with TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu Actor Salman Khan with former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar
Portfolios mentioned for all ministers are based on media reports. No official announcement on distribution of portfolios was made as at the time of going to press; Text: BS Reporters; Pics: Sanjay K Sharma & PTI
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