Modi cabinet: have southern states been short-changed?

As Narendra Modi’s government began its second term in Delhi, a view took hold in southern India that the region, especially Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, had been short-changed in the allocation of ministerial berths.

Tamil Nadu left out

Karnataka received three Union berths in addition to Finance for Nirmala Sitharaman, who sits in the Rajya Sabha for Karnataka, while Kerala and Telangana got one minister each. Tamil Nadu, which had nine ministers in the UPA-II government in 2009, got none. The BJP drew a blank in the state; its ally the AIADMK won only Theni, and the other 37 seats went to the DMK-Congress alliance.

DMK chief M K Stalin said Modi had “insulted” Tamil Nadu because he was angry that voters did not elect a single MP from his party. State Congress president K S Alagiri said the state had been sidelined because of an anti-Modi wave, and argued that Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar could not be seen as representing Tamil people. Commentator M Bharat Kumar agreed, but analyst Ravindran Duraisamy said both had roots in Tamil Nadu. Observer D Jagadheeswaran blamed differences within the AIADMK leadership, while BJP leader L Ganesan said the cabinet was not yet complete and more vacancies remained.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

The BJP won none of Andhra Pradesh’s 25 Lok Sabha seats, and its only MP from the state, Rajya Sabha member Suresh Prabhu, was not included. In 2014, two TDP ministers, Y S Chowdary and P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, served under Modi, and during UPA rule undivided Andhra Pradesh had over 30 Congress MPs and more than seven ministers. In Telangana, where the BJP won four seats, analyst Telakapalli Ravi said people would have been happier had G Kishan Reddy been given independent charge.

Karnataka and Kerala

Narayana A of Azim Premji University said it was premature to judge Karnataka’s share, but voiced surprise at the absence of SC, ST and OBC representation. Sadananda Gowda (Vokkaliga) and Suresh Angadi (Lingayat) were seen as balancing the state’s two dominant communities, while Pralhad Joshi is a Brahmin. The previous ministry had five members from Karnataka.

Kerala BJP chief P S Sreedharan Pillai said Modi had paid good attention to the south despite fewer MPs from there, and party leader S Suresh said the Centre’s attitude mattered more than numbers. V Muraleedharan, a former Kerala BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, became Minister of State for External Affairs. Kerala had eight ministers under UPA-II.

See also: DMK and Lok Sabha members.

Originally published on 1 June 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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