'Thank you for the honour', tweets Sushma Swaraj after failing to make it to Modi Cabinet 2.0

Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, who had opted out of Lok Sabha polls race, failed to make it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet in the BJP-led NDA's second innings.

Swaraj had opted out of fighting the polls due to health reasons.

Soon after the ceremony where Modi and his 57 ministers took oath at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Swaraj, who held Ministry of External Affairs in Modi's first term, tweeted, "Prime Minister - You gave me a chance to serve the countrymen and the diaspora as External Affairs Minister for five years and also gave me so much respect as a person. I am very grateful to you. May our government runs with success, this is my prayer to the Lord."

Swaraj, 67, had been External Affairs Minister in the Modi government since the beginning of its first term in May 2014. She opted out of the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections citing health reasons. 

It is not yet clear who will replace Ms Swaraj as the head of the ministry. S Jaishankar, the former Foreign Secretary is speculated to be the top bet for the job. 

Besides Swaraj, Rajyavardhan Rathore and Mahesh Sharma are also among the notable omissions in the second term of Modi. 

Despite winning their seats, eight-time MP Maneka Gandhi, six-time MP Radhamohan Singh, Sharma, Jayant Sinha, Anupriya Patel, Jual Oram, Ram Kripal Yadav and Rathore lost their ministerial berths.

Another key BJP leader, who did not make it to the Cabinet his time, is JP Nadda, the health minister in the first Modi dispensation. He could be the next BJP president as incumbent Amit Shah has joined the government. 

There were many from Modi's previous Cabinet who either did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections or suffered defeat.

Others who decided not to contest were Suresh Prabhu, who held the civil aviation portfolio, Uma Bharati, the minister of drinking water and sanitation and Birender Singh, who was minister of steel. 

Manoj Sinha, the minister of state for railways, Alphons Kannanthanam, the minister of tourism with independent charge, and Hansraj Ahir, the minister of state for home, were among those who tasted defeat in the elections.

Former bureaucrat and minister of state for urban affairs (independent charge) Hardeep Singh Puri, however, retained his berth despite losing his seat.

Vijay Sampla, who was the minister of state, social justice and empowerment, was dropped. He had been denied a ticket by the BJP after it accused the party of "cow slaughter".

Known for his controversial statements, Anantkumar Hegde, who held the skill development portfolio, has also been dropped. 

Arun Jaitley, who was the finance minister, had opted out of being in the government for health reasons.

(With PTI inputs)