Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi plans to indicate continuity in his new term by retaining the most important members of his outgoing administration in the new Council of Ministers, which will be sworn in on Sunday evening. Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, and S Jaishankar, who previously held the portfolios for home, defence, finance, and external affairs, will all return. Other senior members, including Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Hardeep Singh Puri, are anticipated to continue in their positions, reported ANI. 

According to the report, although the majority of outgoing ministers have been retained, prominent absences include Anurag Thakur, who was not invited to meet Modi before the swearing-in, and Smriti Irani, who suffered a big defeat in Amethi. Parshottam Rupala, whose inflammatory remarks during the polls sparked a debate, is also unlikely to be included in the new cabinet. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who lost to Shashi Tharoor in a tight race, will also be excluded.