Single Mom, Teacher, Activist: Meet Modi 3.0's Seven Women Ministers

On June 9, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for his third term at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This new Union Council of Ministers has 72 members, including 7 notable women, two of whom hold cabinet positions, inspiring a new generation of female leaders across the country. However, this reflects a decline from the previous council, which had eleven female ministers before its dissolution on June 5. 

Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for the third time on Sunday, with an expanded cabinet. In Modi 3.0, the Council of Ministers is made of 12 Upper House members and 58 freshly elected Lok Sabha members. On Sunday evening, 71 ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the oath of office together. There were 30 Cabinet Ministers, 36 Ministers of State, and five Ministers of State with Independent Charges.

Former Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel, and BJP MPs Shobha Karandlaje, Nimuben Bambhaniya, Raksha Khadse, Savitri Thakur, and Annapurna Devi have been appointed as new women ministers in the Modi 3.0 cabinet.  Sitharaman and Devi are in the union cabinet, and the remaining women have taken oaths as ministers of state. 

Former Union Minister Smriti Irani, Minister of State Dr. Bharti Pawar, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Darshana Jardosh, Meenakshi Lekhi, and Pratima Bhoumik were among those who were not appointed to the council of ministers this time. Irani and Pawar lost their existing seats in Amethi and Dandori, respectively, and the BJP did not field Jyoti, Jardosh, Lekhi, or Bhoumik as candidates in the Lok Sabha 2024 Elections. Devi, Karandlaje, Khadse, Sehrawat, and Patel, who won recent polls, have been appointed to the new council of ministers.

Analysis of Women's Representation

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw a slight decline in the number of women elected, with 74 women winning compared to 78 in 2019. During Prime Minister Modi's first term in 2014, eight female ministers were appointed. His second term indicated a reduction, commencing with six women ministers and increasing to ten by the end of the 17th Lok Sabha. The current term's seven female ministers represent a further decline, raising concerns about the ruling party's willingness to commit to gender inclusion in governance.

Meet 7 women in the Union Council of Ministers 

Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member, continues her exceptional tenure in the Union Cabinet. She previously served as Union Finance Minister and is one of just two women in the current Union Cabinet, where she is serving for the third time in a row. 

Key contributions:

• Economic Reforms: Led measures to revive the economy following the pandemic.
• Budget 2021-2022: A historic budget centred on healthcare, infrastructure, and agricultural development.
• Financial Inclusion: Advocated for policies designed to promote financial awareness and inclusion among women.

Annapurna Devi

Annapurna Devi, an influential OBC politician from Jharkhand, has been appointed as a Union Cabinet Minister. Devi joined the BJP from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) following the tragic death of her husband, and she has since played a key role in the party's strategy to consolidate support in Jharkhand ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Devi's extensive experience at the state level, both in Jharkhand and undivided Bihar, has equipped her with a deep understanding of regional dynamics and voter sentiments.

Anupriya Singh Patel

Anupriya Patel, the key figure of the OBC Kurmi group, was reinstated to the Union Council of Ministers. She is the daughter of Apna Dal founder Dr Soneylal Patel and served as the Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry since 2021. She defeated Ramesh Chand Bind of the Samajwadi Party by 37,810 votes in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur constituency.

Shobha Karandlaje

Shobha Karandlaje, respected for her outspoken stance on religious extremism, continues to serve as Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Karandlaje, a close supporter of BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa, wields major influence in Karnataka politics. Karandlaje won the Bangalore North Lok Sabha segment by a margin of 2,59,476, defeating M V Rajeev Gowda of the Congress and becoming Bengaluru's first woman MP.

Raksha Khadse

Raksha Khadse, former BJP leader Eknath Khadse's daughter-in-law and a three-term Lok Sabha member from Raver in north Maharashtra, has steadily risen through the ranks to secure a place in the Modi cabinet. After her husband Nikhil died by suicide in 2013 following a tight loss against NCP leader Manish Jain in the Maharashtra Legislative Council election, she ran for Lok Sabha in Raver in 2014 and defeated Jain. She won again in 2014 with a margin of more than 3 lakh votes. She won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by a margin of 2.72 lakh votes over NCP nominee Shriram Patil.

Nimuben Bambhaniya

Nimuben Bambhaniya, a former teacher and current Minister of State, represents Gujarat. At 57, she has had a major influence on her political career, including her time as mayor of Bhavnagar and her involvement in the BJP Mahila Morcha. She won the 2024 elections from the Bhavnagar constituency with a massive margin of 4.55 lakh votes. The former teacher was mayor of Bhavnagar for two terms, from 2009–10 to 2015–18, and vice president of the BJP's Mahila Morcha's state unit from 2013–2021.

Savitri Thakur

Savitri Thakur, an eminent tribal leader in Madhya Pradesh, has been appointed Minister of State. At 46, she represents the Dhar constituency in the Lok Sabha, having won after being denied a ticket in the 2019 elections. Thakur's role as a tribal leader has been vital in pushing for the rights and development of indigenous groups. Her initiatives are centred on strengthening educational and healthcare facilities in tribal areas, building sustainable livelihoods, and guaranteeing that government initiatives successfully reach the most underprivileged citizens of society.