SAT Desk
Two members each from Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) and one each from eight other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents will be sworn in as ministers in India's new government on Sunday, five days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of the halfway mark of 272 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha for the first time since 2014.
TDP with 16 parliamentarians and JD(U) with 12 emerged as the second and third biggest NDA constituents.
Hours before the swearing-in ceremony, TDP leader Jayadev Galla announced Ram Mohan Naidu, 36, and Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, 48, would be inducted as ministers in the Union council of ministers.
Galla, a former lawmaker, congratulated Pemmasani, a doctor-turned-politician from Guntur, and Ram Mohan Naidu, a three-term lawmaker and an engineer by training. "...Such an honour to serve the nation at the central level during your [Pemmasani] very first political stint. The people of Guntur and entire AP [Andhra Pradesh] are proud of you. All the best for your new role. May you bring positive changes and make a meaningful impact. #MinisterOfState," Galla posted on X.
"Congratulations to my young friend @RamMNK [Ram Mohan Naidu] on being confirmed as a cabinet minister in the new #NDA Government! Your sincerity and humble nature will surely be an asset to the development of the country. Wishing you all the best in your new role!"
The lawmakers set to take oath as ministers later in the day were invited to the Prime Minister's residence for tea at 11am. They include Lallan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur of JD(U), Pratap Rao Jadhav (Shiv Sena) Jayant Chaudhary of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) or LJP (RV)'s Chirag Paswan, HD Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S), AJSU Party's Chandra Prakash Choudhary, Ramdas Athawale of Republican Party of India (A), Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal (Soneylal) and Jitan Ram Manjhi of Hindustani Awam Morcha.
Born in 1960, Jhadhav has been reelected from Maharashtra Buldhana. He has been a three-time member of the Maharashtra assembly (1995–2009). Jhadhav was first elected to Lok Sabha in 2009. He retained the seat in 2014 and 2019. He has served as the chairperson of the standing committees on rural development and panchayati raj and communications and information technology.
Two of the allies—Manjhi, 79, and Kumaraswamy, 64,—being sworn in are former chief ministers of Bihar and Karnataka, respectively. In a post on X, Manjhi said: "I will be attending the programme organised at the residence of Honourable Prime Minister @narendramodi ji today at noon. This is good news for the people of Gaya and Bihar. Hail Magadha, Hail Bihar."
Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, 69, who was the national president of JD(U) until December 2023, and his party colleague Ram Nath Thakur, a former Bihar minister and a member of Rajya Sabha, will be two other ministers from Bihar to be sworn in.
Jayant Chaudhary, 45, who is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, Chirag Paswan, 41, and Chandra Prakash Choudhary, 56, are being inducted into the Union council of ministers for the first time. Athawale, 64, and Anupriya Patel, 43, were ministers in the previous NDA governments as well.
