Anurag Thakur's Hails Modi's Third Term, ‘Mann Ki Baat' Key Figures Join For Oath-Taking Ceremony

BJP MP-elect Anurag Thakur's heartfelt congratulations and best wishes were extended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of his third term. Warm wishes were also conveyed to all the ministers, with hopes expressed that they would perform admirably and propel the country forward in the coming five years.

It was noted by Thakur that many individuals associated with the "Mann Ki Baat" initiative, a significant outreach program by Prime Minister Modi, were present.

Photo Credit: PTI

Additionally, key figures involved in the "Viksit Bharat Abhiyan" campaign, aimed at advancing India's development, were also in attendance. The presence of these notable personalities at Thakur's residence was considered a privilege. It was stated by Thakur that they would all proceed to the oath-taking ceremony from there.

Exclusion of Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur, and Narayan Rane from Modi 3.0 Cabinet - Sources

Sources have indicated that BJP leaders and former Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur, and Narayan Rane will not be included in the Modi 3.0 cabinet. Irani, who lost the Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi by over 1.6 lakh votes to Congress loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma, served as the Women and Child Development Minister in the second term of the Modi government. She had previously defeated Congress's Rahul Gandhi in his family bastion five years ago.

Thakur, who won the general election from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur and held the sports, and information and broadcasting portfolios, is reportedly excluded from the Union Cabinet in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's latest alliance government. Rane, who was the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Minister in Modi 2.0, won the Lok Sabha election from Maharashtra's Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg.

The Modi 3.0 cabinet is expected to include several BJP leaders, such as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Nitin Gadkari, Mansukh Mandaviya, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav, Prahlad Joshi, Kiren Rijiju, CR Paatil, L Murugan, Hardeep Puri, ML Khattar, Shivraj Chouhan, Gajendra Shekhawat, Suresh Gopi, and Jitin Prasada.

Additionally, leaders from other parties in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including HD Kumaraswamy, Jayant Chaudhary, Pratap Jadhav, Ram Mohan Naidu, Sudesh Mahato, and Lallan Singh, are also expected to be part of the cabinet. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who lost to Shashi Tharoor in a close contest, is also likely to be missing from the new government. However, a significant majority of the outgoing ministers are expected to continue, as per the visuals of the meeting.