Modi Cabinet formation: Nine from South India part of new government

In Andhra Pradesh, efforts have been made to keep BJP’s key ally Telugu Desam Party chief and state’s Chief Minister-designate Nara Chandrababu Naidu comfortable as one cabinet berth and one minister of state position have been offered to his party.

Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu was sworn in as the Cabinet minister and Guntur MP Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani became the minister of state.

“Our focus is our state and what Andhra Pradesh can get from the central government. So we are not disappointed with what we got,” a TDP leader told the Indian Express. The TDP had won 16 Lok Sabha seats and is one of the key allies in the National Democratic Alliance government.

Karnataka:

In Karnataka, where the BJP suffered losses as it had won just 17 seats compared to its 2019 tally of 25 seats, the party did walk a tightrope to accommodate its allies and keep its older rung content. However, as far as caste composition goes, the BJP has accommodated two Vokkaligas, one Brahmin and one Lingayat leader.

BJP ally and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy was sworn in to the Cabinet, even as his party is currently mired in controversy over rape cases filed against Kumaraswamy’s nephew Prajwal Revanna. Kumaraswamy is one of the sons of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and is a Vokkaliga — a dominant caste — leader.

Pralhad Joshi who was a Union minister in the previous government too was sworn in to the new Cabinet. A Brahmin leader from Karnataka, Joshi is believed to have the support of BJP’s parent organisation – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The party has also tried to accommodate its senior leader former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s supporters by inducting Shobha Karandlaje, a Vokkaliga leader, as minister of state. The party has also inducted V Somanna, a Lingayat leader, as MoS.

Kerala:

Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi was sworn in as minister of state after he became the first one to open a Lok Sabha account in the southern state. Earlier, Gopi was made a Rajya Sabha MP during the previous term of the Modi government. As an acknowledgement of the Christian votes, the BJP polled this election in Kerala, veteran political leader of the state George Kurian was sworn in as MoS.

Tamil Nadu:

While there was speculation that the BJP’s current state president K Annamalai could get an MoS position, it was Tamil Nadu BJP’s former state president L Murugan who took oath as MoS. He was earlier MoS for information and broadcasting. He is believed to have been instrumental in winning four seats of the BJP in 2021 assembly polls.

Telangana:

In Telangana, where the BJP doubled its 2019 tally of four seats to eight, a former state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar who was removed in 2023 was sworn in as minister of state. Former Union minister G Kishan Reddy was also sworn into the cabinet.

The decision to include both Kumar and Reddy is expected to appease different factions of the BJP which were at loggerheads with each other in 2023.