Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet expansion on Wednesday saw the biggest ever representation being given to leaders from the northeast with two cabinet ministers and three ministers of state. The new entrants from the region include former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, former minister Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh, lawmaker Pratima Bhowmik from Tripura and Manipur MP Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. Rameshwar Teli from Assam is already an MoS.
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Soon after the reshuffle, chief ministers from the region celebrated their inclusion calling it proof of ‘inclusivity and diversity’. Among those who welcomed the move were Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma and Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb.
The BJP, which had no presence in the region 10 years back, now has governments in Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur. The saffron party shares power in Meghalaya and Nagaland through partnerships with National People’s Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), respectively. In Mizoram and Sikkim, while the BJP is not part of the ruling combine, they have a toe-hold as the ruling parties back NEDA that supports the NDA.
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In keeping with his government’s ‘Look East policy’, the Prime Minister not only bolstered the representation from the northeast but also promoted Rijiju to Cabinet rank. Here are the four representations from the northeast:
Kiren Rijiju
Kiren Rijiju, a lawyer by training and a politician by profession, belongs to Arunachal Pradesh. Seen as the BJP face in the northeast, the 49-year-old leader belongs to a political family. He started young and led several social movements as a schoolkid before formally entering politics. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rijiju is a former Minister of State of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs of India.
Sarbananda Sonowal
He is a former Chief Minister of Assam, who ceded his post to Congressman-turned-BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma after the recently-held Assembly elections. He had since been waiting to be accommodated at the Centre. The 59-year-old is a two-time Lok Sabha MP from Assam and has earlier served as a Minister of State with Independent charge. Sonowal, 58, is currently an MLA in Assam’s Majuli and is expected to come to Rajya Sabha when the election will be held to a vacant seat of the Upper House from the state.
Pratima Bhoumik
Lok Sabha MP from Tripura West, Pratima Bhoumik, has also taken oath as minister of state. The 52-year-old BJP leader was elected to the Lower House for the first time in 2019 and has become a union minister from Tripura after almost three decades.
Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh
Singh is currently in his first term as a member of the Lok Sabha, from the Inner Manipur constituency. An academic by training, Singh has a PhD and has a four-decade long career as a Geography Professor. He has a MA and PhD in Geography from Gauhati University.
Rameswar Teli
The Modi government also has a minister of state from Assam in Rameswar Teli. A two-term Lok Sabha MP, 50-year old Teli is currently holding the charge of the union minister of state for food processing industries.
