Who are the youngest, oldest ministers in PM Modi's Cabinet
What's the story
A total of 30 cabinet ministers, 36 Ministers of State (Mos), and five MoS (independent charge) took oaths along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. Among them, the youngest to be sworn into PM Modi's new Council of Ministers is Raksha Nikhil Khadse, a 37-year-old MP from Maharashtra. On the other end of the age spectrum, Jitan Ram Manjhi, 79 years old and former Chief Minister of Bihar, is the oldest minister in the council.
Career highlights
Khadse political journey and achievements
Khadse won the Raver Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra, securing her position in the council. She was first elected as an MP in 2014, when she defeated Manish Jain of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) by a significant margin of 3,18,608 votes. At just 26, she became one of the youngest MPs in the 16th Lok Sabha, along with Bharatiya Janata Party's Heena Gavit. She is also the daughter-in-law of Eknath Khadse, an NCP leader from Maharashtra.
Manjhi
Manjhi's political journey and achievements
Meanwhile, Manjhi secured his position in the council by winning the Gaya seat in the 2024 general elections. With a political career spanning nearly 40 years, Manjhi has held many portfolios, including serving as the 23rd chief minister of Bihar and as minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare in Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's cabinet. He also founded the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) after he was expelled from the Janata Dal (United) over a disagreement with CM Kumar.
New faces
Other young ministers joining the council
Other young ministers in PM Modi's new cabinet include actor-turned-politician Chirag Paswan and Jayant Chaudhary. The cabinet also has many new faces, such as the likes of Manohar Lal Khattar, former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Janata Dal (United) leader Ram Nath Thakur, and another actor-turned-politician, Suresh Gopi, among others. There are 42 ministers from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) categories.