Political wrap: PM Modi’s surprise pick from Assam in MEA, Chandrababu Naidu on Amaravati and more

TDP won 135 seats in the 175-member assembly while Kalyan's Jana Sena won 21 seats in the just-concluded assembly elections. Their NDA ally BJP also won 8 seats.

Andhra Pradesh BJP president Dr Daggubati Purandeswari told reporters that Naidu was elected as the leader of the NDA legislative assembly at the alliance's meeting held earlier today.

"There was an NDA meeting today in which Chandrababu Naidu was elected as the leader of the NDA Legislative Assembly. We have just come to the Governor and submitted a request letter to him that he should invite Chandrababu Naidu to form the government immediately, to which the Governor has responded and said that following the proper procedures he will immediately call him to form the government. The swearing-in ceremony will take place tomorrow," she said.

-Who is Pabitra Margherita? PM Modi’s surprise pick from Assam in MEA

Margherita was indeed a surprise pick. His original name is Pabitra Gogoi. He uses the name of native town – Margherita in upper Assam’s Tinsukia district – as his surname. Margherita was a cultural activist before joining politics in 2014.

He was elected as a Rajya Sabha member in 2022 and is also the political secretary to CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. According to observers, by inducting Margherita into the ministry, the BJP is pitting an Ahom against another Ahom – three-time Lok Sabha member Gaurav Gogoi who was elected from Jorhat this election. Jorhat, Dibrugarh and a portion of Kaziranga constituencies make up upper Assam and with large number of Ahom voters.

He was elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Assam in 2022. According to reports, Margherita's induction into the Union Cabinet is aimed at countering Congress' perceived resurgence in eastern Assam. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi last week secured a victory from the Jorhat seat, defeating BJP's Topon Kumar Gogoi by 1,44,393 votes.

-Amaravati to be sole capital of Andhra Pradesh: Chandrababu Naidu

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said that Amaravati would be the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh. The announcement comes a day before Naidu's swearing-in as the chief minister of the state.

He said this while addressing a joint meeting of TDP, BJP and Jana Sena legislators, where he was unanimously elected as NDA leader in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. “In our government, there will be no games under the guise of three capitals. Our capital is Amaravati. Amaravati is the capital,” Naidu was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

In 2014, when Andhra Pradesh was divided, Naidu had big plans for Amaravati. He had floated the idea of Amaravati as the capital city during his tenure as the first chief minister of bifurcated Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019.

The idea, however, witnessed a roadblock in the year 2019 when TDP lost power in the state and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP won a landslide victory.

-Who is George Kurian, BJP’s Christian face & surprise entrant in Modi 3.0 Cabinet

BJP's Kerala general secretary George Kurian, who is the party's Christian face in the state, has been inducted into the Modi 3.0 Cabinet.

On Monday, Kurian, 63, was handed several portfolios in the government. He was appointed as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. After Suresh Gopi, who won the elections from Thrissur, Kurian is the second Kerala leader in the Modi Cabinet.

Kurian, a lawyer from Kottayam, has been associated with BJP since its foundation in 1980. Enjoying a good rapport with several national BJP leaders, Kurian worked in almost all the key posts of the state party unit, such as vice president and general secretary.

Kurian belongs to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, one of the key churches in Kerala. He has often been seen translating the speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah during the party’s public events in the state.

-‘It's like coming full circle': Jyotiraditya Scindia after taking charge as telecom minister

yotiraditya M. Scindia remarked that assuming charge as the Union Communications Minister on June 11 felt like coming full circle, as he previously served as the junior telecom minister from 2007 to 2009.

"It is also a little bit like coming full circle for me. I worked as a junior minister in this department in 2007, 2008 and 2009. For me, this is also a department with which I have had tremendous emotional ties. It is my sincere effort to ensure that we live up to the expectations of the people of India under the leadership of the Prime Minister," Scindia said at a press conference.

The 53-year-old son of late Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia has previously served as the Minister of Civil Aviation in the last Cabinet since 2021. The India Post and telecom divisions have a "tremendous role to play" at the local, as well as, at the global level, he added.

"Both the telecom division as well as the India Post division have a tremendous role to play on a global stage, as well as, on a local stage. Under the Prime Minister's leadership, there has been a revolution in this department. Today, I vow to persevere and put in my best to ensure that we deliver according to the aspirations of the Prime Minister, as well as the 140 crore people across the length and breadth of this country," Scindia said.