PM Modi expands Council of Ministers, Javadekar promoted; Akbar, Athawale, Anupriya among 19 new faces

PM Narendra Modi inducted many new faces as he expanded his Council of Ministers on Tuesday in a gala ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prakash Javadekar, who currently serves as MoS Environment, was elevated to the Cabinet rank, while senior ministers like Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar and Sushma Swaraj retained their cabinet posts. 19 other leaders from various states took oath as ministers in today's Cabinet expansion.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted many new faces as he expanded his Council of Ministers on Tuesday in a gala ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prakash Javadekar, who currently serves as MoS Environment, was elevated to the Cabinet rank, while senior ministers like Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar and Sushma Swaraj retained their cabinet posts. 19 other leaders from various states took oath as ministers in today's Cabinet expansion.

Five ministers were dropped from the Union Council of Ministers - Nihalchand, Ram Shankar Katheria, Sanwar Lal Jat, Manuskhbhai D Vasva and MK Kundariya.

BJP ally Shiv Sena, which has also been a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government, looked upset with PM Modi's decision to expand his Council of Ministers and decided to boycott cabinet expansion ceremony alleging that it was not consulted over the same. However, news agency ANI later reported that Shiv Sena MP and Union Minister Anant Geete will attend the oath-taking ceremony of newly inducted ministers in Cabinet.

Here are the LIVE updates:-

-Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets newly inducted ministers.

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets newly inducted ministers #CabinetExpansion (Source: PMO) pic.twitter.com/6lXFilTEFm — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Ramdas Athawale and SS Ahluwalia arrive at PMO to meet PM Narendra Modi

-Newly inducted Ministers arrive at PMO to meet PM Narendra Modi.

Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets newly inducted ministers #CabinetExpansion (Source: PMO) pic.twitter.com/6lXFilTEFm — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Here is the complete list of newly-inducted ministers.

The new members inducted into the Council of Ministers today https://t.co/ZLBc6Sw972#ModiCabinet pic.twitter.com/lnRnLbBPHn — PIB India (@PIB_India) July 5, 2016

-Thankful to PM Modi fr reposing his faith in me, will fulfill responsibility with complete sincerity: Anupriya Patel

Thankful to PM Modi fr reposing his faith in me, will fulfill responsibility with complete sincerity- Anupriya Patel pic.twitter.com/F5dhucU8kH — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-PM Narendra Modi invites the newly inducted Ministers for tea at 2:30 PM today.

-PM Modi greets newly inducted ministers, urges them to work in the best interest of the nation.

Congrats to newly sworn-in colleagues. Lets work together to bring a positive difference & for #TransformingIndia. pic.twitter.com/Xo8naAyd0S — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 5, 2016

-Oath ceremony concludes.

-President Pranab Mukherjee, PM Modi with newly inducted NDA government ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

#CabinetExpansion PM Narendra Modi & President Pranab Mukherjee with newly inducted Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan pic.twitter.com/3NLIxajW83 — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Dr Subhash Ramrao Bhamre takes oath as the Minister of state at the President's House in Delhi

#CabinetExpansion: Dr Subhash Ramrao Bhamre takes oath as the Minister of state at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/xKyivGbpso — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

PP Choudhary sworn in as the Minister of State.

#CabinetExpansion: P P Choudhary sworn in as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/pnCI4Ts7Jc — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

CR Chaudhary sworn in as the Minister of State.

#CabinetExpansion: CR Chaudhary sworn in as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ptDMlbGrKv — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Mirzapur MP Anupriya patel takes oath as Minister of State.

#CabinetExpansion: Anupriya Patel takes oath as the Minister of State in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee pic.twitter.com/pA6V4ot6l2 — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Mansukh Mandaviya takes oath as the Minister of State.

#CabinetExpansion: Mansukh Mandaviya takes oath as the Minister of state in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee pic.twitter.com/jbPhn9droI — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Krishna Raj sworn in as the Minister of State at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi

#CabinetExpansion: Krishna Raj sworn in as the Minister of State at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi pic.twitter.com/t3V4XRmbnI — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Ajay Tamta sworn in as the Minister of State at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi

#CabinetExpansion: Ajay Tamta sworn in as the Minister of state at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi pic.twitter.com/6oUoCBsAlB — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey takes oath as the Minister of State.

#CabinetExpansion: Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey takes oath as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/quPuFdeTYr — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Jaswant Singh Bhabhor takes oath as Minister at the President's House in Delhi

-Arjun Ram Meghwal takes oath as the Minister of State at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi

-M. J. Akbar takes oath as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi

#CabinetExpansion: M. J. Akbar takes oath as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/bLuK6F4RRj — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Parsottambhai Rupala sworn in as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi.

#CabinetReshuffle: Parsottambhai Rupala sworn in as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/VCGXTyPuOe — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Anil Madhav Dave sworn in as the Minister of State in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee.

#CabinetExpansion: Anil Madhav Dave sworn in as the Minister of state in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee pic.twitter.com/kXSuiOSmr1 — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Rajen Gohain takes oath as the Minister of State at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

#CabinetExpansion: Rajen Gohain takes oath as the Minister of State at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi pic.twitter.com/QnFUBc0sce — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Ramdas Athawale takes oath as Minister at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

#CabinetExpansion: Ramdas Athawale takes oath as Minister at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi pic.twitter.com/PzajQh8cox — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Vijay Goel sworn in as the Minister of State at the President's House in Delhi.

#CabinetExpansion: Vijay Goel sworn in as the Minister of state at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/UbJlGw5L4y — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Ramesh Jigajinagi takes oath as Minister in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee

-SS Ahluwalia takes oath as Minister at the President's House in Delhi

#CabinetExpansion: SS Ahluwalia takes oath as Minister at the President's House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/wgD15TaHP3 — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Fagan Singh Khulaste takes oath as Cabinet Minister at the President's House

Delhi: #CabinetExpansion: Fagan Khulaste takes oath as Cabinet Minister at the President's House pic.twitter.com/qHGlu3q9MM — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Prakash Javadekar takes oath as a Minister of Cabinet rank.

-Visuals of oath taking ceremony from President's House, newly inducted Ministers to take oath shortly.

#CabinetExpansion: Visuals of oath taking ceremony from President's House,Newly inducted Mins to take oath shortly pic.twitter.com/d5FXf3MjTv — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-PM Modi at the oath taking ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, greets Vice President Hamid Ansari, his party colleagues.

-Arjun Ram Meghwal left for President's House on a cycle, to be inducted in Cabinet today.

Arjun Ram Meghwal leaves for President's House on a cycle, to be inducted in Cabinet today #CabinetExpansionhttps://t.co/OExaJYrLU7 — बिहारी बाबा™ (@TheGreatBihari) July 5, 2016

-Amit Shah ji has asked me to work with him for the party, I told him, "his wish is my command": Ram S Katheria, BJP

-PM Modi and Amit Shah have given responsibility to new people, I welcome them: Ram Shankar Katheria, BJP.

-Mansukh Mandaviya and Arjun Meghwal leave for President's House on a cycle, will be inducted in Union Cabinet today.

Delhi: Mansukh Mandaviya & Arjun Meghwal leave for President's House on a cycle,will be inducted in #Cabinet,today pic.twitter.com/F1dFGALj2I — ANI (@ANI_news) July 5, 2016

-Proud. Aim to fulfil BRAmbedkar's dream of upliftment of Dalits & poor: Ramdas Athawale (RS MP, Maharashtra)

-Will be inducted in Cabinet for the 1st time under PM Modi, matter of pride and honour for me: P Rupala (RS MP, Gujarat)

-It's big responsibility,will try to live upto the expectation of people: Rajen Gohain (MP, Nagaon, Assam)

-I am proud that I will be a part of the development vision of PM Modi: Mansukh L Mandaviya

-Have received letter stating that I'll be inducted in Modi ji's Cabinet. Very happy: PP Choudhary

-Our priority would be to work for the people and address key issues related to farmers: FS Kulaste

-Whatever responsibility I get,will fulfil it to best of my ability: FS Kulaste (BJP MP, Mandla,MP)

-Very happy, always wanted to do good things for people: Ramesh Jigajinagi (BJP MP, Bijapur Constituency)

-Govt has given me such a big responsibility,will try to fulfil it: Krishna Raj (MP,Shahjahanpur,UP)

-Will fulfil all the responsibility given to us by party: CR Choudhary (MP from Nagaur, Rajasthan)

-Whatever responsibility is given by party,will strive to fulfill it: MN Pandey (MP from Chandauli)

Ahead of the expansion, PM Modi was quoted as saying that the expansion of his Council of Ministers will reflect "budget focus and priorities".

The government also indicated that some ministers may also be dropped. Senior NDA Ministers like Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar and Sushma Swaraj are most likely to retain their portfolios.

Senior leaders who are most likely to be inducted into the Modi Cabinet are Purushottam Rupala, SS Ahluwalia, Ramdas Athawale, Anupriya Patel, Ajay Tamta, Krishna Raj, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Subhash Ramrao Bhamre and PP Chaudhary.

The names of Rajya Sabha MPs Vijay Goel, MJ Akbar, Anil Madhav Dave are also doing the rounds as possible new entrants.

Faggan Singh Kulhaste, who was embroiled in the cash-for-votes scam during the UPA-1 rule, CR Chaudhary, Jasvantsinh Bhabhor, Rajen Gohain and Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi are also likely to be inducted

The 19 ministers come from states like UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Assam.

The Cabinet will get a new Minister of State for Sports (independent charge), a post which fell vacant after Sarbananda Sonowal became the Chief Minister of Assam.

The sources said the expansion comes after an "exhaustive vetting and selection process" to find the best talent.

Though party sources claimed the changes were not on caste or regional imperatives, the list of probables suggested a careful balancing act based on political considerations.

The first expansion had occurred in November 2014. There are currently 64 Union ministers, including the Prime Minister, and there can be a maximum of 82 of them under a constitutional bar.

(With PTI inputs)