Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah likely to be retained; ML Khattar, Ravneet Bittu sounded

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, June 9

Top ministers in the outgoing Narendra Modi cabinet — Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah — are likely to be retained in Modi 3.0 with sources telling The Tribune that former Haryana chief minister ML Khattar and former Karnataka CM Basvaraj Bommai had got calls for induction as ministers.

Among the former ministers likely to be retained are Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, Arjun Meghwal, Rao Inderjit, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitender Singh.

New names that have emerged include North West Delhi MP Kamaljit Shehrawat and Maharashtra’s Raksha Khadse.

A source said Ravneet Bittu who lost from Ludhiana to the Congress may also be included.

BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai may also get a ministerial role for his mobilisation in the state though the BJP didn’t win any seat in the state.

Sources said a firm marker of who all land a ministerial role would be the invitation to the PM-designate’s residence for tea with Narendra Modi at around 11.30 am.

Sources said Rajnath, Shah and Jaishankar are likely to be retained in their current ministries.

Hardeep Puri and Ashwini Vaishnaw are likely to be repeated as ministers.

JP Nadda is likely to be inducted into the Union cabinet. The Tribune had reported today that all party presidents get ministerial roles once their term as party chief ends. Nadda’s term as the BJP chief ends in June.

Sanjay Bandi and G Kishan Reddy will be the likely ministers from the Telangana quota.

JP Nadda, who was not present at the meeting at the PM’s house, will become a cabinet minister. Anurag Thakur is set to be dropped as there will be only one minister from Himachal Pradesh.

Suresh Gopi, the lone Kerala MP of the BJP, will get a ministerial berth. He’s on his way from Kerala to Delhi.