Narendra Modi appoints cabinet without any Muslim minister

For the first time in history, the Indian government lacked Muslim representation, with no minister from the marginalised community was appointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet as he took oath for his third term on Sunday.

Despite Muslims making up 14.2% of India's population, their representation in the government is notably absent, with no Muslim holding a cabinet position.

Historically, the Congress party included Muslim ministers in its cabinets, and the BJP also had Muslim ministers in 2014 and 2019.

According to Indian sources, the reason behind the lack of Muslim representation in the Modi government is the election outcome, since no Muslim candidate from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance could secure a seat in the legislature. 

Of the 24 Muslim MPs elected to the lower House, 21 are from Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), two independents from Indian-occupied Kashmir, and one from Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

Modi is the second person after Jawaharlal Nehru of the Congress party to serve as Prime Minister of India for a third time.

The recent elections were highly polarised and yielded surprising results. The far-right BJP and its allies failed to secure a clear majority in the 18th Lok Sabha, while the INDIA alliance, dominated by Congress, made significant inroads into BJP strongholds in Uttar Pradesh and other states.

Before the elections, Modi had confidently predicted that his party would secure more than 400 seats in the lower house of parliament. However, his Islamophobic policies and provocative speeches against minorities appeared to backfire and undermine his claims.