Three MPs from Northeast get ministerial berths in Modi 3.0 govt

Guwahati/Agartala, June 10 (IANS) Three MPs from the northeastern states — two from Assam and one from Arunachal Pradesh — were on Sunday accommodated in the new government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against five in the previous government.

Sarbananda Sonowal, who won from Dibrugarh for the second time; Kiren Rijiju, who was elected from Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency for the fourth time, and BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Pabitra Margherita got the ministerial berth.

While Sonowal and Rijiju got the Cabinet berths like the previous PM Modi-led 2.0 government, Margherita got the Minister of State rank.

While Sonowal served as the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Minister of AYUSH, Kiren Rijiju served as Minister of Earth Sciences and Minister of Food Processing Industries, Rameswar Teli (from Assam) served as the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Labour and Employment, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (from Manipur) served as Minister of State for External Affairs and Education and Pratima Bhoumik (from Tripura) served as Union Minister of State, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Modi 2.0 government.

Teli, Singh and Bhoumik did not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP and its ally Naga People’s Front lost both the Lok Sabha seats in Manipur to Congress.

BJP candidates — Biplab Kumar Deb and Kriti Devi Debbarman — won from Tripura West and Tripura East Lok Sabha seats respectively, but none of them have been accommodated in the Union Ministry.

Of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in eight northeastern states, including Sikkim, the BJP won nine seats in Assam, two each in Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, while its allies United People’s Liberal Party (UPPL) and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam, and the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) in Sikkim secured one seat each.

The Congress won two seats in Manipur, and one seat each in Nagaland and Meghalaya from the BJP and its allies, besides winning three seats in Assam.

–IANS

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