Video Editor: Vishal Kumar
Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister for a second consecutive term on Thursday, 30 May, at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Along with Modi, 57 other ministers also took the oath of office and oath of secrecy. Twenty new faces were inducted in the Modi 2.0 Cabinet, but this new cabinet has sent many interesting signals. When one analyses Modi’s cabinet, the traditional method doesn’t hold – because PM Modi himself is the message.
Earlier, it was kept in mind how many Cabinet posts were awarded to which state. What is the caste or religion of the minister? What is the representation of women and youth in the Cabinet? Based on these points, one would try to decode the message a government was trying to send.
Big Inductees: Amit Shah & S Jaishankar
The biggest shock from the oath-taking ceremony was Amit Shah’s swearing-in at number 3, right behind PM Modi and Rajnath Singh. Rajnath has held onto his position of number 2 in the government. The message is that Amit Shah might be allocated the portfolio of Finance Ministry, which might be a very positive signal for the market. Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley are not a part of the new cabinet.
In the absence of Swaraj, it is largely believed that former foreign secretary S Jaishankar may be awarded the portfolio of Ministry of External Affairs. His induction proves that foreign affairs are clearly a priority under PM Modi. It could be seen as the start of a new phase of Modi-diplomacy.
Breaking Up the Cabinet by State Representation
Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Sadanand Gowda, Prakash Javdekar and Piyush Goyal have been inducted in the Modi Cabinet again. Three ministers from Maharashtra belong to the Maratha community. Maharashtra will be holding Assembly Polls by the end of 2019. By including Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena), Rao Sahab Danve and Sanjay Dhotre have been inducted in the Cabinet to attract the Maratha voters.
A similar attempt has been made in Andhra Pradesh. By including Kishan Reddy in the Cabinet, the BJP has tried to woo Reddy voters. Similarly, Jat and other communities have been kept in mind while distributing ministerial berths in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
New faces have been inducted from Gujarat. The induction of Muralidharan, a Kerala resident, also sends a political message. From Karnataka, leaders with ABVP background and others who have strong presence on the ground have been given preference.
In Rajasthan, Gajendra Shekhawat has been awarded a Cabinet post. He won against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav Gehlot. Shekhawat’s induction may be hinting at the end of Vasundhara Raje-era in Rajasthan.
Missing Names
Apart from Arun Jaitely and Sushma Swaraj, BJP bigwigs like Mahesh Sharma, Radhamohan Singh, Suresh Prabhu, Ramkripal Yadav, Jayant Sinha, Anant Kumar Hegde, Satpal Singh and others have also been dropped from the Cabinet.
It might be possible that a few more leaders are later added to the Cabinet. But for now, the message from this Cabinet is that BJP has made serious efforts to increase its base.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)