On Monday, June 10, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi held the first meeting of his Union Cabinet at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.
IMAGE: The order in which the ministers are seated is important: Prime Minister Modi is flanked by Amit A Shah and Rajnath Singh.
To Rajnath Singh's right are Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Patil, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, H D Kumaraswamy (Janata Dal-Secular), Dharmendra Pradhan, Lalan Singh (Janata Dal-United), Dr Virendra Kumar, Prahlad Joshi, Giriraj Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kiren Rijuju, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and Chirag Paswan (Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas).
The two gentleman at the end are P K Mishra, principal secretary to the prime minister, and Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
To Amit A Shah's left are Nirmala Sitharaman, Manohar Lal, Piyush Goyal, Jitan Ram Manjhi (Hindustani Awam Morcha), Sarbananda Sonowal, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu (Telugu Desam Party), Jual Oram, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Bhupender Yadav, Annpurna Devi, Hardeep Singh Puri, G Kishan Reddy, C R Patil. All Photographs: ANI Photo
IMAGE: Senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Amit A Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Subramanyam Jaishankar have retained their portfolios.
Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Manohar Lal, befitting their stature as senior BJP leaders, have been allotted the agriculture and power portfolios.
IMAGE: The Cabinet met under the watchful eye of the gentleman who Modi told one television interviewer during the election campaign was virtually unknown to the world until Richard Attenborough's film on him was released in 1982.
IMAGE: Modi makes a point that brings a smile to the usually stern Shah's face.
IMAGE: Unlike this past week where his demeanour and mood appeared sombre -- for the first time in his electoral career, he failed to win a simple majority -- Modi seemed in better spirits at the Cabinet meeting.
IMAGE: Chirag Paswan, who will 42 in October (he shares a birthday with the Sardar) is not the youngest member of the Cabinet.
TDP representative Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu is 36 (he will be 37 in December) and the youngest Cabinet minister.
Pramod Kumar Mishra has served Modi as principal secretary to the PM since 2019.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, who turns 65 on Independence Day, is one of Modi's most trusted babus, having been given four one-year extensions after he passed the age of superanniation.
IMAGE: Jitan Ram Manjhi in a red jacket is the oldest Cabinet minister. The veteran Bihar politician will be 80 on October 6, 16 days before Amit A Shah turns 60.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
