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Reshuffle in times of polls has Amit Shah's imprint

Cabinet expansion reflects political calculations and caste-balancing act, at a time when the BJP was preparing for elections in Uttar Pradesh

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BJP president Amit Shah with Minister of State for Power at the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday
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One by one, 19 MPs met BJP President Amit Shah, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Council of Ministers. Over tea, Shah is understood to have told each of them that they would be required to play a bigger, more responsible role for the people and nation.

Accompanied by Ramlal, party general secretary in-charge of Organisation, Shah spent the day at his Akbar Road residence informing that they would be inducted into Modi’s Council of Ministers. He also undertook the uncomfortable task of conveying the news to five ministers–Sanwar Lal Jat (Water Resources), Nihalchand (Panchayati Raj), Ram Shankar Katheria (HRD), Mansukh Bhai Vasava (Tribal Affairs) and Mohanbhai Kundaria (Agriculture)– who drove down in cars with beacon lights, that they would have to step down.

The government and the party were in complete sync. Tuesday’s Cabinet expansion, reflecting the political calculations, underlined the synergy between BJP and the Modi government. It was Shah who invited the new entrants to Delhi for a meeting, deviating from the trend of Prime Minister playing that role. The speculation over the reshuffle, before the Prime Minister left for Africa, was triggered last week after a five-hour meeting between Modi and Shah.

The Cabinet expansion, a prerogative of the Prime Minister, had Shah’s imprint in the regional and caste-balancing act, at a time when the BJP was preparing for elections in Uttar Pradesh, its most crucial battle since the NDA came to power, besides Punjab and Uttarakhand. Modi’s new team sends a message that the BJP was reaching out beyond its core support base of Brahmins and Thakur to create a caste umbrella that also comprised Dalits, backward classes and tribals. Though the government said the expansion was aimed at fast-tracking Modi’s vision of governance, the impact of the party’s political considerations was apparent.

From UP, of the three MPs inducted, Anupriya Patel, whose Apna Dal is merging with BJP, is a Kurmi from the politically relevant Purvanchal belt, Krishna Raj representing Shahjahanpur is a Dalit and Chandauli’s Mahendra Pandey, a former minister in the BJP governments in UP , a Brahmin. The BJP had swept the state in the Lok Sabha elections, cutting across caste lines. The BJP is now trying to reach out to the Dalits, particularly those who are not Jatavs, Mayawati’s vote bank. Of the existing 12 ministers from UP, Ram Shanker Katheria from Agra has been dropped. He, however, would be shifted to the organisation.

Besides Raj, there are four other new faces who belong the scheduled castes-- Ajay Tamta from Uttarakhand, another poll-bound state, Ramdas Athawale, a Buddhist Dalit leader of the Republican Party of India (RPI), Arjun Meghwal from Rajasthan and Ramesh Jigajinagi from Karanataka. Jasvantsinh Bhabhor of Gujarat and Faggan Singh Kulaste of Madhya Pradesh are from the scheduled tribe community.

Senior BJP leader SS Ahluwalia, a Lok Sabha MP from Darjeeling, will be the first Sikh to be inducted into Modi’s team. From Gujarat, which faced the Patel agitation last year, two OBC leaders-- Purshottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandaviya have found place in the Council of ministers. The state goes for election later next year. CR Chaudhury, a Jat, has been inducted from Rajasthan. In BJP-ruled Haryana, the Jats were agitating for reservation. 

After consultations with the Prime Minister, Shah is understood to have also discussed the matter with senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari. After meeting the new entrants on Monday, Shah also took the list to the office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor.

“Congratulations to all newly sworn-in ministers. I am sure under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi they will do their best for India,” Shah said in a tweet.

Dalit faces

Besides Krishna Raj, there are four other new faces who belong the scheduled castes-- Ajay Tamta from Uttarakhand, another poll-bound state, Ramdas Athawale, a Buddhist Dalit leader of the Republican Party of India (RPI), Arjun Meghwal from Rajasthan and Ramesh Jigajinagi from Karanataka. Jasvantsinh Bhabhor of Gujarat and Faggan Singh Kulaste of Madhya Pradesh are from the scheduled tribe community.

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