READ ALSO: Here are the nine new ministers who will take oath tomorrow
The new faces include BJP MPs Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Bihar), Virendra Kumar (Madhya Pradesh) and Shiv Pratap Shukla (Uttar Pradesh).
The others are Anant Kumar Hegde, Raj Kumar Singh, Hardeep Puri, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Satyapal Singh and Alphons Kannanthanam.
“The new ministers are going to be strategically placed in key ministries, especially focusing on last mile delivery directly to the people,” a source said.
“As a part of the restructuring, six incumbent ministers have resigned,” the source said.
Want to thank PM that he trusted me with such a responsibility, it’s a chance to work for country: Gajendra S Shekh… https://t.co/3vCSvJbPU5
— ANI (@ANI) 1504371162000
“Have always fulfilled responsibilities the party leadership gave me. Would thank PM Modi, Amit Shah and senior leaders,” Virendra Kumar told news agency ANI.
“I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and my people of Baghpat for all their support. I also thank all the honest government officials and the people who believe in the teachings of Swami Vivekananda,” former Mumbai police chief Satypal Singh told the media.
No JD(U), Sena names in list of new ministers
With government sources disclosing the names of nine people, a surprise factor is the absence of any member of the BJP’s allies such as the JD(U) and the Shiv Sena from the list.
Though top BJP leaders maintained silence on the development, sources in the party said the JD(U) and the Shiv Sena not figuring in the list was likely due to lack of a formula for representation which could satisfy all allies.
The Sena, with 18 Lok Sabha members against two from the JD(U), wanted its share of representation in line with that of the Nitish Kumar-led party, which would have meant several more berths for the Maharashtra party, a demand the BJP did not concede, the sources said.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Sena has three members while the JD(U) has 10.
Earlier in the day, Kumar claimed in Patna that no talks between the BJP and his party were held on the issue, while Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said he had received no communication from the bigger ally.
Internal troubles in the AIADMK, which has been hit by a rebellion by the T T V Dhinakaran-led section, has proved to be a stumbling block in its joining the government.
Source : timesofindia