Amit Shah in, S Jaishankar PM Narendra Modi's surprise pick

Putting all speculations to rest, BJP president Amit Shah took oath at the much awaited swearing-in ceremony as a minster in Modi government's cabinet on Thursday. However, the biggest surprise that PM Modi threw up was the inclusion of former foreign secretary S Jaishankar Prasad in cabinet.

Outgoing but top performing minsters of finance Arun Jaitley and external affairs Sushma Swaraj got dropped on the expected lines. Though Jaitley had made it clear much early by sending a letter to allow him rest because health reasons, Swaraj's exclusion was intriguing as her tweet did not mention any reason.

While the portfolios are yet to be made public, there are strong chances that Amit Shah could either of the two posts of finance or home ministry. Hazarding a guess, BJP insiders say that Shah may get home portfolio because of his past experience in Gujarat government under Modi's chief ministership. Moreover, Shah does not have any exposure to finance or economy as he is a graduate in biochemistry. He may be slowly eased into the ministerial berth until the BJP finds a worthy President to take party's stewardship.

"The finance is a highly skilled job and PM Modi would like to give it to somebody like Piyush Goyal who have some proven record or have past experience in finance ministry. But we don't know what is in Modiji's mind," said a BJP source.

The lateral entry of Dr Jaishakar is being looked by many as a positive and affirmative step by PM Modi. Besides serving as an ambassador in key countries like US, Dr Jaishankar also played a key role in Indo-US nuclear deal.

Welcoming the development, former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said, "I think Dr Jaishankar has been included with external affairs in mind. It is a very positive development and means that PM Modi is placing a premium on professionalism when it comes to key ministry like external affairs that needs deft diplomatic handling."

Another interesting inclusion in the cabinet is BJP Rajasthan president Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who because of his expertise is tipped to get Agriculture ministry in place of left out Radhamohan Singh.

Allies Sulk

• JD(U) & AIADMK, major allies of BJP, did not find place in new Cabinet nor did any other smaller allies. 
• JD(U) chief & Bihar CM Nitish Kumar attended the oath, but said the one-berth offer was not acceptable.