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| Edited By: Arghya Roy Chowdhury |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Sep 03, 2017, 09:10 PM IST
The Modi government took a giant leap towards fixing accountability and making a course correction with one-and-a-half years to go before the next general elections.
It's a no-brainer that the government needs to push on in several fronts where it has lagged, due to extraneous situations, legacy issues or sometimes due to ineffectiveness of its own ministers. PM Modi is clearly looking to plug the hole with this new round of changes which has several inspired choices. Also, it tries to account the several political compulsions and key focus areas for BJP ahead of 2019.
The elevation of Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore clearly shows that the PM has given preference to ministers who have been proactive in promoting and implementing some of NDA's flagship schemes. Sitharaman in her no-nonsense avatar was instrumental in promoting schemes like Stand-up India, Startup India and Make in India. She also was in the forefront to promote the government's message of Digital India. Sitharaman indulged in deft diplomacy for untying several knots for Make in India.
Similarly, Piyush Goyal got lot of positive press for schemes like UDAY and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Yoti Yojana. At a time when Indian Railways is struggling from infrastructural lacunae, Modi hopes Goyal can infuse new energy and ideas.
Dharmendra Pradhan and Naqvi have got upgades in their respective ministries. Pradhan, who is tipped as BJP's face in Odisha caught PM's attention with his stellar job in the Ujjwala scheme of providing LPG connections.
Interestingly these ministers are also very proactive on social media ensuring that Modi government's flagship programmes are promoted aggressively. In the final evaluation, that surely earned them additional brownie points. Smriti Irani too has retained I&B in the reshuffle. It shows that Irani continues to remain in the good books after the temporary blip when her schemes got stuck in the HRD Ministry.
With elections coming soon, PM Modi will want his ministers to go in overdrive to achieve targets and powerfully package them to the voters. All these Ministers, alongside Nitin Gadkari, who has been given additional responsibility of Ganga rejuvenation, check those boxes.
The fact that the government has to induct four ex-bureaucrats (including two non-MPs) as Ministers indicate the bench strength of BJP is not that great. One way of seeing it is PM Modi is looking to get professional guidance to spruce up governance, but it is unlikely to go down well with the BJP backbenchers, many of whom would have hoped for a promotion.
The fact that Nirmala Sitharaman was virtually air-dropped from MoS (Independent Charge) to Cabinet Committee of Securities shows that the government is scrambling to get earnest hardworking talent to fill the vacuum.
The elevation of Nirmala Sitharaman and Alphons Kannanthanam shows South is a big focus for Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The BJP juggernaut hasn't really worked in the South, but the party will hope to send a positive message with these changes. Alphons, a Syrian Catholic Christian from Kerala shows the party is looking to reach out to a wider social base. JNU alumni Nirmala Sitharaman, now elevated to one of the top four ministries sends out a strong message.
It's a virtue signalling that the new generation is now part of important decision-making, women empowerment is not merely a lip service and the Southern states are not excluded from BJP's power matrix. Whether it helps BJP to gain additional foothold in the south will be an interesting point to track in the future.
Old warhorse Umar Bharti has been stripped of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation but got Sanitation and Drinking Water. Similarly, Suresh Prabhu has been removed from Railways but has been given Commerce and Industries. Both were underwhelming in their earlier ministries but managed to retain their place in the cabinet owing to their good rapport and high level of trust equation with PM Modi. A slap in the wrist no doubt, but they live to fight another day.
It is slightly difficult to fathom how JP Nadda, Radha Mohan Singh and Shripad Naik continue to retain their portfolio without not much impact. Especially, with farmer agitation reaching a crescendo across major states, many thought Radha Mohan Singh will be in the chopping blocks. But somehow Radha Mohan Singh has survived the churn.
It is difficult to do quality control when allies nominate their candidates for ministries. That may have been the likely reason that allies have been given a complete miss in this round of cabinet reshuffle. Most significant was JD(U) not getting any ministerial berths, despite being the newest entrant to the NDA fold.
It shows that as we get to the business end of this Modi govt, PM is looking to leverage the simple majority BJP has in Lok Sabha to powerfully implement his agenda by his handpicked trusted lieutenants. The allies may grumble but they have very little leg room to make any adjustment.
