The Centre reconstituted eight Cabinet Panels on Wednesday, giving the highest representation to the National Democratic Front (NDA) allies since 2014.
The Centre made room for the key BJP partners in the all-important Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) in an announcement made over three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers took oath on June 9. The last rejig to include changes in portfolios or exclusion or inclusion of new ministers was done on December 8, 2023.
The Cabinet Committee on Security, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, remains unchanged. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet, or ACC, was also unchanged with Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah as its only members.
Here are the committees that underwent changes.
In the first reconstitution of the CCEA following the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, HD Kumaraswamy, the Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel from the Janata Dal (Secular), and Lalan Singh, the Panchayati Raj and Animal Husbandry Minister from the Janata Dal (United), were added as members. The last Bharatiya Janata Party ally in this committee was Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal in August 2020.
The CCEA, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the highest executive body responsible for decisions on industrial policies, major investment proposals, and significant infrastructure projects like dams and power plants. Other members include Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S. Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal, and Dharmendra Pradhan.
The Prime Minister-led CCPA, which makes key political decisions for the government, also includes MSME Minister Jitin Ram Majhi from HAM and Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu from the Telugu Desam Party. This panel last had two members from alliance partners when it was reconstituted on August 18, 2020. Additional members are Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, JP Nadda, Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal, Bhupender Yadav, Annpurna Devi, Kiren Rijiju, and G. Kishan Reddy. Three ministers—Pralhad Joshi, Mansukh Mandaviya, and Giriraj Singh—were shifted out after portfolio changes. Smriti Irani is no longer part of this panel following her 2024 election loss.
The inclusion of allies in key bodies highlights their stronger position in the third term of the Modi government, with the BJP holding 240 seats and allies having 53 Lok Sabha seats. A senior government functionary noted that in the final years of the previous NDA government, there were no reshuffles to include new allies, despite old allies like the Akalis and Shiv Sena (UBT) leaving the coalition.
The Cabinet Committee on Accommodation now includes Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal, replacing Hardeep Singh Puri. The Parliamentary Affairs Committee, led by Rajnath Singh, has been expanded to 10 members, including Nadda, Lalan Singh, Naidu, Jual Oram, and CR Patil, while Anurag Thakur, Arjun Munda, Pralhad Joshi, and Piyush Goyal have been moved out.
The Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth has increased its membership from eight to 11, adding Pralhad Joshi, Giriraj Singh, Hardeep Puri, and Chirag Paswan (Food Processing Minister). Former Union Minister Narayan Rane is no longer part of the panel. Other notable members include IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Nitin Gadkari is no longer part of the Cabinet Committee on Skill, Employment, and Livelihood, while Tourism Minister Gajendra Shekhawat has been added. NDA ally Jayant Chaudhary, MoS (Independent Charge) Skill Development, from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, is a special invitee to this committee.
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