What was the portfolio of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Jawharlal Nehru's cabinet before accepting the Prime Ministership?

Railway Minister

The correct answer is Option (3) → Railway Minister

"The ease with which the succession after Nehru took place proved all the critics wrong. When Nehru passed away, K. Kamraj, the president of the Congress party consulted party leaders and Congress members of Parliament and found that there was a consensus in favour of Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was unanimously chosen as the leader of the Congress parliamentary party and thus became the country’s next Prime Minister. Shastri was a non-controversial leader from Uttar Pradesh who had been a Minister in Nehru’s cabinet for many years. Nehru had come to depend a lot on him in his last year. He was known for his simplicity and his commitment to principles. Earlier he had resigned from the position of Railway Minister accepting moral responsibility for a major railway accident. "

Note: There appears to be a factual error in this question. Shastri was first appointed to Nehru's cabinet as the Minister of Railways and Transport. He gained a reputation for his integrity and, after a train accident in 1956, he famously resigned from his post, taking moral responsibility for the tragedy. This act was widely praised. After his resignation, he later returned to the cabinet and served as the Minister of Home Affairs, which was his last major portfolio before he was appointed as Prime Minister in 1964. However, NCERT makes only a reference to his resignation from the Railways Ministry, without detailing his later portfolios. Therefore, the answer has been marked here in accordance with the NTA answer sheet.