# First Vajpayee ministry

* This article is part of a series aboutAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India
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Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister of India for first time on 16 May 1996.
BJP was well short of majority and looking for allies, but Vajpayee resigned after just 16 days since he could not muster enough support. The ministry was kept small because its fate was uncertain when swearing-in took place.

## List of ministers

| Portfolio | Minister | Took office | Left office | Party |
| Prime Minister and also in-charge of: Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry of Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Ministry of Coal Ministry of Commerce Ministry of Communications Ministry of Environment and Forests Ministry of Food Ministry of Food Processing Industries Ministry of Human Resource Development Ministry of Labour Ministry of Mines Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry of Planning and Programme Implementation Ministry of Power Ministry of Railways Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment Ministry of Science and Technology Ministry of Steel Ministry of Surface Transport Ministry of Textiles Ministry of Water Resources Department of Atomic Energy Department of Electronics Department of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs Department of Ocean Development Department of Space And all other subjects not allocated to any other Cabinet Minister. | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of External Affairs | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 16 May 1996 | 21 May 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of External Affairs | Sikander Bakht | 21 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Urban Affairs and Employment | Sikander Bakht | 16 May 1996 | Incumbent | BJP |
| Minister of Agriculture | Suraj Bhan | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs | Ram Jethmalani | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Home Affairs | Murli Manohar Joshi | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism | V. Dhananjaya Kumar | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Defence Minister of Parliamentary Affairs | Pramod Mahajan | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Welfare | Kariya Munda | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Industry | Suresh Prabhu | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | SHS |
| Minister of Health and Family Welfare | Sartaj Singh | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Finance | Jaswant Singh | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |
| Minister of Information and Broadcasting | Sushma Swaraj | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | BJP |