In a recent development, seven women, including two in Cabinet roles, have been inducted into the new council of ministers in the 18th Lok Sabha, which took shape on June 9. The previous council, which dissolved on June 5, had ten women ministers. Notably absent from the new council are former Union Minister Smriti Irani, Minister of State Bharti Pawar, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Darshana Jardosh, Meenakshi Lekhi, and Pratima Bhoumik. Irani and Pawar lost their seats in Amethi and Dandori, respectively, while Jyoti, Jardosh, Lekhi, and Bhoumik were not fielded by the BJP in the recent elections.
The newly inducted female ministers include former Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP MPs Annpurna Devi, Shobha Karandlaje, Raksha Khadse, Savitri Thakur, Nimuben Bambhaniya, and Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel. Sitharaman and Devi have been appointed to the union cabinet, while the others have been sworn in as ministers of state. This year, 74 women won seats in the Lok Sabha elections, a slight decrease from the 78 elected in 2019. Among the new ministers, Devi, Karandlaje, Khadse, Thakur, and Patel are notable additions, having secured their positions through recent electoral victories.
Narendra Modi, along with his 71-member council of ministers, took the oath on June 9, marking the beginning of a new coalition government following two full terms where the BJP held a majority on its own. Modi’s first term in 2014 featured eight women ministers, while his second term saw six women sworn in, a number that increased to ten by the end of the 17th Lok Sabha.
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