Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi has carried out a major reshuffle of the Council of Ministers, including at the Cabinet level. As is the case with any Union Cabinet, the admixture contains a selection of those chosen for both representational purposes as well as a goodly amount of individuals known to have a good track record of performance in different fields. While these are the dual categories in which commentators bracket individual choices, it must be said that many of those said in the media to be chosen for representational reasons (so as to reflect inclusion of particular segments of society), it may be noticed that the Prime Minister has acted carefully in opting for those with a proven track record of effectiveness in the field and not simply those who are “high profile”. Although it must be added that more than a few of the “high profile” names also have substantial achievements to their credit, including multiple projects in their constituencies. Jyotiraditya Scindia has a very high media profile, but an equally good track record as an effective minister. His inclusion is clearly a message to the family that controls the destinies of members of the Congress party that they may have erred by preventing younger people of high calibre from securing the positions their qualities merit for fear that they may in some manner overshadow the 2019 Congress party candidate for the Prime Ministership of India. The longer the present AICC president and her heir apparent continue in their dominant positions within a party that has long been in need of a serious overhaul, the better it is for the political parties opposing the country’s first (and longest serving) ruling party. It is unlikely that this fact may not have dawned upon the minds of several of the leading lights of the party, as for example recent open letters suggest. Going when the music is still sweet is an asset that few politicians have, and in the case of the Congress party, two successive defeats in 2014 and 2019 do not appear to have weakened the desire of the top two in the party to hold on to their positions and authority. Given that the present reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers is clearly a preparation for Mission 2024, which is the securing of a hat trick by Captain Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, this is good news indeed.
Among those who bring the benefit of both representational as well as performance-linked advantages to the Council of Ministers is Hardeep Puri, who by his hard work and persistence has earned the promotion he has secured. Punjab is a very important state that merits representation at the High Table. Rajeev Chandrashekhar may be an adopted son of Karnataka (as indeed several from his home state are, thanks to the wonderful people of that extraordinary state) but is still very much Malayali and makes no secret of that. The BJP may have ceased for the moment to be represented in the Kerala Assembly, but the presence of Chandrashekhar (no doubt sometimes in Kerala as well) shows that the ruling party is still in the hunt for an unprecedented Lok Sabha seat from Kerala and will work hard for that prize. In Bengal as well, the BJP may be down but is far from out, and is very much in the hunt to equal if not surpass the TMC’s Lok Sabha tally in that very consequential state in 2024. Arvind Kejriwal’s insistence on speaking only in Hindi even to those who are unfamiliar with the beautiful national language of the country may have affected his chances of emerging as a significant player in 2024 where the east, south and west of the country are concerned, but his relatively good performance in Delhi has kept such hopes alight. As for Mamata Banerjee, the other hopeful, by the time 2024 comes into view, she may find the going rough in her own home turf unless her style of functioning changes significantly. More than her qualities, it was the series of tactical missteps made by the BJP in Bengal that led to the party’s less than impressive showing in a state with 42 Lok Sabha seats. In Maharashtra, should the Shiv Sena gravitate to a more natural partnership with the BJP, that combination is poised to do well in the next national polls, especially if the well-regarded Devendra Fadnavis is accommodated at the national level whether in the party organisation or in the ministry in a capacity that reflects his acknowledged competence. Not only Union Ministers could be of utility to the BJP and to the country, but office-bearers effective in the party organisation as well, especially at the state level.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by tweeting birthday greetings to His Holiness Gyalwa Rinpoche Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, has shown what ought to have been clear to a certain power from the start, which is that he is not the person to allow either himself or his country to be bullied. In case any doubts remained of Modi’s commitment to One India, that would have dissipated in the elevation of Kiren Rijiju to the Union Cabinet, a choice that gives further evidence that the Northeast is no longer at the periphery but at the centre of national politics and policy. Those selected with care as part of his team by Captain Modi need to get to work immediately at their allotted tasks so as to ensure that the 2024 Test series goes the way their Captain wants. They do not have a moment to lose.
