Midterm reset to correct govt’s image, gear up for elections
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 7
Midway into his second term, PM Narendra Modi today pressed the reset button by putting together one of the youngest Council of Ministers to steer India past Covid-19 challenges and effect a generational shift in the ranks ahead of forthcoming Assembly and 2024 General Election.
The average age of the new 77-member Council is 58, with 14 ministers now below 50 years of age.
The expectation is that new appointees will be “on their toes” to deliver government’s ambitious agendas across health, education, social justice and economic revival through the mid and post-pandemic periods.
Top among the 12 casualties of the Cabinet revamp today — Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal — signal PM’s urge to correct the government’s global and domestic image that took a massive hit during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Seeds of reshuffle were sown during the May mayhem caused by Covid-19 as health systems collapsed, overwhelming cremation and burial grounds and forcing people to dispose of bodies into the Ganga.
With world media unsparing in its portrayal of India’s flailing Covid response at the peak of the second wave, PM Modi was seen as left alone to do the firefighting with some surveys showing decline in his popularity.
Vardhan was dropped for failing to even remotely predict the scale of the second wave that ended up denting the Centre’s image.
IT Minister Prasad’s frequent run-ins with social media giants, mostly Twitter, did not help India’s global image either. Some recent unfavourable court verdicts also hurt Prasad’s image.
Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar’s undoing was his inability to stem the rising unemployment, satisfactorily address the migrant crisis during Covid and going all out recently to flay the Yogi government for its alleged pandemic mishandling.
The selection of newcomers and elevation of ministers Anurag Thakur, Kiren Rijiju, G Kishan Reddy, Mansukh Mandaviya and RK Singh, further reflect BJP’s urge to create second-rung leadership.
Sources said the rejig was also necessitated to strike a regional, caste, community and social balance ahead of Assembly elections next year with the new council consisting of 27 OBCs (highest-ever representation), 12 Scheduled Castes, eight Scheduled Tribes and five minority community ministers.
Gender index of the Cabinet also stands improved with 11 women in the council now, including Cabinet ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Smriti Irani.
The new council is also dominated by professionals—13 lawyers, six doctors, five engineers and seven civil servants.
The PM’s new team has leaders with vast administrative experience—four former CMs, including Maharashtra’s Narayan Rane and Assam’s Sarbanand Sonowal; 23 MPs, eight former state government ministers and 39 former MLAs.
Uttar Pradesh now has seven ministers, representing all regions, namely Purvanchal, Awadh, Braj, Bundelkhand, Rohilakhand, Paschi Pradesh and Harit Pradesh.
Regional balance has been struck when picking ministers from Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and the North-East.
- Health: Harsh Vardhan found wanting during second Covid surge
- IT & Law: RS Prasad due to clashes with social media giants, adverse court verdicts
- Chemicals and Fertilisers: Weak mgmt of drug supply chain by DV Sadanand Gowda
- Social Justice: TC Gehlot sought to be relieved after losing family members to Covid
- Education: Ramesh Pokhriyal removed on health grounds, student disaffection through Covid
- I&B: Prakash Javadekar seen ineffective with communication through Covid wave
- Labour: Santosh Gangwar fell out of favour for accusing Yogi government of Covid mismanagement
- MoS education: Sanjay Dhotre’s performance was found wanting
- MoS Social Justice and Jal Shakti: Rattan Lal Kataria’s performance found wanting
- MoS Women & Child Development: Debashree Chaudhury eased out to make way for Bengal newcomers Shantanu Thakur and Nisith Pramanik
- MoS Animal Husbandry: Pratap Sarangi out for poor performance
- MoS Environment: Babul Supriyo seen as poor performer
