Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is likely to get the Finance Ministry in Modi Cabinet 3.0, say sources close to the government. The Gujarat strongman has been holding the Home Ministry since 2019, but PM Modi may reshuffle some portfolios this time, and Shah is likely to replace Nirmala Sitharaman.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shah won the Gujarat Gandhinagar seat by over 7.4 lakh votes, while PM Narendra Modi won the Varanasi seat in Uttar Pradesh by 1.5 lakh votes. Shah has been a trusted man of the Prime Minister since the 1990s, when both were BJP workers.
Who Will Get Home Ministry?
Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, who is currently holding the Defence Ministry, may replace Amit Shah as the country's home minister, said sources. Proge agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), SFIO (serious fraud investigation office) are likely to be under Shah. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan may also get a key ministerial position, the sources said. Chauhan won the Vidisha seat by a margin of 8.21 lakh votes.
Smriti Irani and Anurag Thakur are likely to be dropped as ministers.
Late finance minister and BJP leader Arun Jaitley then requested Prime Minister to make Nirmala Sitharaman as the next finance minister after him when he was not well. PM Modi appointed Sitharaman as FM after Jaitley wish, otherwise Amit Shah was always the PM's choice as the Finance Minister, the sources said.
Shah had handled the portfolio as Finance Minister in Gujarat when PM Modi was the Chief Minister in the state.