On 26th May, India witnessed the biggest ever swearing in ceremony. Anybody who was somebody was present to witness the moment. Modi and his team of 24 cabinet ministers and 21 Member of State (MoS) were sworn in by the President Pranab Mukherjee. Besides a list of obvious portfolios going to prominent names like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, the Modi cabinet also have in their team a few surprising entries. But then, there were a few entries that raised some eyebrows too. Kindle 5/Five lists them out for you.
Najma Heptulla
Najma Heptulla, originally a member of the Congress, will now head Ministry of minorities. The 74- year is one of the few who did not contest at all in this Lok Sabha elections. It is widely speculated that the grand-niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and cousin of actor Aamir Khan, is now the sole Muslim face of Modi’s cabinet. A PhD in Cardiac Anatomy from the University of Denver, Heptulla was previously nominated by the United Nations Development Programme as its human development ambassador.
Anant G Geete
The 63 year old who took classes from a private teacher to learn Hindi has now been given the responsibility of the heavy industries and public enterprises. He won by the lowest margin of 2,110 votes from Raigad, previously known as Ratnagiri. Known to have survived in the Shiv Sena because of his loyalty to the Thackeray family, Geete makes his first appearance at the centre. It didn’t take us much time to put the two and two together there!
Dr. Harshvardhan
Dr. Harshvardhan became famous when he stood against the anti-corruption guru, Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi assembly election in December 2013. Even though he lost that election, this time around, he won by massive 1,36,320 votes from Chandni Chowk and BJP’s biggest peg in capital city. The surgeon is in the Lok Sabha for the very first time. Hugely credited with starting pulse polio programme, Dr. Harshavardhan is now the Minister of Health and Family Welfare in the Modi government.
Maneka Gandhi
This elections wasn’t a completely a lost battle for the Gandhi clan. The 57-year old Maneka Gandhi, sister in-law of the Congress President Sonia Gandhi,has been handed the responsibility of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Known across the world as animal rights activists, Maneka makes it to the cabinet for the first time. Well, thanks to her, we have one last Gandhi standing.
Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar, a Rajya Sabha member , did not contest the elections and yet has been given the responsibility of one of the important ministries- the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting( Independent Charge). Touted to be a close aide of Nitin Gadkari , Javedakar was party’s in-charge of Andhra Pradesh. Instrumental in striking a deal with Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, Javadekar also played a role in unearthing cash-for-vote scam.
