Why Modi is keen on 3rd & 'final' cabinet reshuffle before 2019 polls

The long awaited cabinet reshuffle of the Narendra Modi government, its third and possibly its final before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, is set to take place by Sunday afternoon.

Laggards among the ministers are being dropped. Performers among ministers of state, including those with independent charges, are set to be promoted. Some of the leaders who have excelled in organisational work will be included in the council of ministers, and some ministers asked to return to party work.

New ally Janata Dal (United) will get representation. Existing allies, who need to be placated in the run up to the 2019 polls, could get more ministerial berths. There is still no clarity on whether AIADMK might be included in the cabinet.

However, the shape of the forthcoming expansion and reshuffle would highlight the failures of the Modi government on some of its key promises – job growth and skill development, improvements promised in the farm sector and Ganga rejuvenation.

Also Read : Is Modi winning fake currency war? A data you shouldn't miss

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised 20 million jobs a year if voted to power. However, job growth has been abysmal, and significantly lower than the last three years of the UPA 2 government. The PM and BJP chief Amit Shah have argued how the MUDRA Scheme has provided loans to over 80 million people, which in turn has provided employment in the informal sector.

But it's becoming increasingly apparent that the over two percent dip in GDP growth, the impact of demonetisation and inability of the industry to invest resulted in poor job growth. The Modi government’s plans to impart skills to a large section of the youths has fallen way short of its targets. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, despite his hard work in what was a newly carved out ministry in 2014, couldn’t meet the PM’s expectations as the minister of state (independent charge) for skill development and entrepreneurship. (more)

PMO stamp in Cabinet rejig

PMO stamp in Cabinet rejig

Among many political, administrative and ideological messages in the changes in the council of ministers that Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out, the most important was the unambiguous stamp of his office.

The sweep of influence of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tuesday’s rejig was rarely witnessed in the past three decades.

In expanding this influence of the central government, the PM was assisted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah.

The changes in the Cabinet worked at several levels.

They were definitely done with an eye on electoral compulsions — Dalits and Other Backward Classes found increased representation. New ministers were inducted from states that are either electorally crucial for the BJP (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat) or are going to polls in the near future (Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh).

Also, alliance building was kept in mind. Allies like Republican Party of India (A)’s Ramdas Athawale and Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel were made ministers.

There was an effort for more efficient political management, not only to reach out to Opposition parties but other stakeholders, like the media, as well as assuage different camps within the BJP.

A straight-talking M Venkaiah Naidu was made in charge of the information and broadcasting ministry, while Arun Jaitley, seen as a liberal voice in the Sangh Parivar and the party, was divested of that portfolio. Read more.

Cabinet rejig: RPI's Athawale to take oath tomorrow, vows to work for Dalits

Cabinet rejig: RPI's Athawale to take oath tomorrow, vows to work for Dalits

Expressing his delight over a Dalit getting representation in the Cabinet after Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale today thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this opportunity and vowed to work for the backward sections of the society.

Talking to the media in New Delhi after attending a meeting called by BJP president Amit Shah, Athawale confirmed that he would be taking oath tomorrow.

"I just talked to Amit Shah ji and he has given me the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He told me that I will be taking oath tomorrow. I am very happy that Prime Minster Modi and party president have given us this opportunity," he said.

Athawale recalled that Dr Ambedkar was a minister in India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet and said that the RPI didn't get an opportunity after that.

"But now the RPI is getting a representation in the Cabinet. All the Dalits of the country will be very happy. The Prime Minister will decide on the portfolios tomorrow. I will work for the Dalits and backward classes of the society," he added.

Dr Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, was Independent India's first law minister and the principal architect of the Constitution of India.

With an eye on the politically crucial assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh scheduled next year, the much-awaited expansion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet will take place tomorrow. Read more.

Ishrat Jahan controversy: Why BJP has hit political potluck against the Congress

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has for long pointed out how several Congress leaders are yet to be punished for their alleged role in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 or even the several cases of suspected ‘fake encounters’ approved by successive Congress governments at the Centre and in states. In contrast, the BJP’s Gujarat government, earlier led by Narendra Modi, has been hounded for the anti-Muslim riots of 2002 as well as the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter of 2004.

The BJP has cleverly exploited this analogy to paint the Congress and the intelligentsia that supports the party as the villains, while Modi and BJP President Amit Shah as victims. In the case of Ishrat Jahan, the BJP has alleged that it was a conspiracy hatched by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and executed by then Home Minister P Chidambaram to target Modi.

That at least two probes, including one by the Central Bureau of Investigation, found the encounter to be staged is quickly brushed aside. The probe had drilled holes in the Gujarat police theory of Ishrat, a Mumbai college student, being a Lashkar operative. The Congress, given its low credibility currently, has struggled to put forth its point of view.

Read more from our special coverage on "ISHRAT JAHAN"

• Ishrat Jahan case: BJP asks Sonia Gandhi to take responsibility
• Ishrat Jahan case: BJP attempting to dilute fake encounters issue, accuses Congress
• Ishrat Jahan case: BJP, govt attack Congress, Chidambaram over affidavit issue
• CBI court rejects plea to inspect 2nd Ishrat charge-sheet
• Congress alleges cooked-up story given on Ishrat Jahan case

The BJP, at least since mid-February, has effectively used the Ishrat Jahan issue to put the Congress leadership on the defensive. It has kept up the heat on the issue ever since Lashkar-e-Tayyeba operative David Coleman Headley suggested that he had heard about Ishrat Jahan, the 19-year-old girl who was gunned down by Gujarat police in June 2004.Read More.