As the swearing-in ceremony will take place this evening, all eyes are on the Council of Ministers with the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Before the ceremony, the PM hosted a tea party at his residence where he briefed the likely ministers.
Amid the many faces from the BJP and NDA, Gujarat was represented by some familiar, as well as some new faces.
Amit Shah
The outgoing Union Home Minister Amit Shah was seen sitting at the PM’s tea party, listening to PM Modi with intent.
Shah secured his Gandhinagar seat with the second-highest margin in the state with over 7,00,000 votes. Shah will most likely return to his home minister post in the new cabinet.
S Jaishankar
There have been media reports of S Jaishankar, a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, already being chosen to be at the helm of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Jaishankar is the first-ever foreign secretary to become the foreign minister in India. His roles in multiple rescues carried out by India abroad have made him a prominent figure in diplomacy.
CR Patil
The state president for the BJP in Gujarat is likely to assume the post in the Council of Ministers, too, as Patil was also seen at the PM’s residence.
Just like Amit Shah, CR Patil also registered a landslide victory in Lok Sabha Elections 2024, contesting from Navsari. In fact, Patil was ahead of Shah, claiming his victory with a margin of 7,73,551 votes.
Nimu Bambhaniya
Bhavnagar’s Nimu Bambhaniya is also likely to make a place for herself in the Council of Ministers if the sources are to be believed.
She, along with Amit Shah and CR Patil, was one of the top winners on June 4, when the Lok Sabha Election results were announced.
Bambhaniya defeated her rival, AAP’s Umesh Makwana, with a staggering 4,55,289 votes.
Mansukh Mandaviya
The outgoing minister of health and family welfare and chemicals and fertilizers, Mandaviya is also likely to return to the Council of Ministers.
He contested the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on the Porbandar seat, winning it by 3,83,360 votes against Congress’ Lalit Vasoya.
Notably, the current union ministers Parshottam Rupala and Devusinh Chauhan were absent from the tea party.