Dharmendra Pradhan Resigns: Who Are Potential Candidates To Become New Education Minister In India?

On the afternoon of July 25th, Pradhan issued his resignation letter, meeting one of the demands of the CJP party and its youth, who have been protesting across major cities in India for the past few days.

He wrote, "To ensure that anti-national forces do not exploit the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country, that national unity remains intact; that no student's future gets tangled in legal complexities, and that our children invest their time in studying and focusing on their careers-after considering all these factors, I have submitted my resignation to the Honorable Prime Minister."

Pradhan, age 57, has taken various ministry roles under PM Modi's cabinet for the past 12 years. His latest role was as education minister from July 7, 2021, to July 25, 2026.

He had to resign after thousands of students marched at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding his resignation from the post of education minister after several controversies, repeated exam paper leakages and irregularities in the system. At the forefront of the anger was the latest leak in the competitive NEET (UG) examination in May 2026, which resulted in over 20 students death through suicide since the cancellation and re-NEET.

Dharmendra Pradhan Net Worth

Pradhan, born on June 26, 1969, in Talcher, which is situated in the Angul district of Odisha, is among the most influential BJP leaders.

As per the election affidavit, his family's combined net worth stood at Rs 6.38 crore. His annual income stood at Rs 12.74 lakh in 2022-23, while his wife Mridula Thakur's annual income stood at Rs 49 lakh in that same year. His daughter Naimisha also earned Rs 4.6 lakh during that time.

Of the total, Dharmendra Pradhan has a net worth of 1.99 crore, while his wife's total net worth is higher than his at Rs 4.12 crore. Their two children Naimisha and Nishant Pradhan have a net worth of Rs 25 lakh and Rs 1.62 lakh.

As of 2024, his family's investment in bank deposits, PPF, fixed deposits, and other financial deposits stood at a total of Rs 2.47 crore, while their mutual fund holdings are valued at Rs 80.40 lakh, and the family has parked up to Rs 67.72 lakh in insurance policies.

Among immovable assets, Pradhan's family holds agricultural and non-agricultural lands along with residential buildings in Angul, Talcher, and Ghaziabad. In case of liabilities, the family has housing building loans from PSU banks like SBI, Punjab National Bank, and IDBI Bank. He has some personal loans via individuals as well, as per the affidavit at ECI.

Who Will Be New Education Minister Of India?

While Pradhan's resignation was much demanded by the youths of India, the buzz of a major cabinet shuffle under PM Modi's government has been around for quite some time now.

In June 2026, channels like ABP and Bhaskar English reported that social media is flooded with cabinet reshuffle rumors. One of the key names to be rumored to replace Pradhan was the current finance minister, Nirmal Sitharaman. There were several other reports of the former AAP member, Raghav Chadha, getting a position in the cabinet, and the possible job could be as education minister.

These are speculations and rumors, and there have been no official statements regarding potential candidates for the education minister position by the government as of now. GoodReturns cannot confirm the same.

An announcement of Pradhan's successor is keenly awaited. Also, what happens next for both the Pradhan and CJP protests is also awaited.

As per reports and speculations, Sitharaman could be replaced by former RBI governor Shaktikanta Das as the new finance minister. As per earlier, the government continues to aim in becoming a $5 trillion economy; however, it is concerned about the CPI inflation that touched 4.38% in June 2026, the highest since December 2024.

Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian economist and politician who has served as the minister of finance and corporate affairs since 2019. She previously served as the minister of defence from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), she was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, from Karnataka in July 2016, as per Wikipedia.

Unlike Dharmendra Pradhan and Nirmala Sitharaman, who have held important roles in the Cabinet, the new entrant in the BJP, Raghav Chadha, does not have any experience in leading ministerial roles.

From 2012 to 2026, he was an Aam Aadmi Party member before joining BJP in April 2026. Prior to the BJP, Chadha, who is a chartered accountant, has served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 2022. Earlier, he served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Rajinder Nagar constituency in Delhi between 2020 and 2022.

CJP Protests:

What happens next? The answer is yet to be known! Founded by Abhijeet Dipke, CJP had three demands from the government related to the education system. One is met in the form of Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

After Pradhan's resignation, CJP founder Dipke said, "There's no need to be afraid. This is democracy. He has resigned, but we have two more demands. We won't go like this. Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned. But the families of the children who committed suicide should receive compensation of one crore rupees. They should get it. One crore rupees in compensation to all those families. And second, these police goons who acted on the 20th. Action must be taken against the police officers for that. Remember, do not mess with cockroaches."

The CJP has called for a nationwide candle march on Sunday, July 26, 2026. Their poster said, "One person, one candle. For every student the government failed. March together in silence."

On its website, CJP has its five core demands from the Indian government. These include jobs & accountability, education reform, press freedom, judicial dignity, and transparency now!