The Message from the Modi Cabinet
The Prime Minister gets ready to work at full tilt with overwhelming support from his allies
PR Ramesh
Ullekh NP
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14 Jun, 2024
The Prime Minister gets ready to work at full tilt with overwhelming support from his allies
A NEW DELHI-BASED leader of a key coalition ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received an outstation call around 7PM on June 10 from his leader enquiring about their party’s Union Cabinet portfolio. The Delhi leader, an MP known for being soft-spoken, had no answer to offer because he was as much in the dark as most people were. But unused to giving up easily, he promised the leader at the other end of the line to probe further and call back. This politician, a former state-level minister who is increasingly playing a crucial role for his party at the Centre, then rang a BJP minister, a friend of his, who immediately broke to him the news about receiving an envelope just minutes earlier at the first meeting of the Cabinet held that day at the Prime Minister’s 7 Lok Kalyan Marg official residence. Inside the envelopes passed on to the Cabinet ministers were names of ministers of state (MoS) and those who were to work with them. It was only then that the minister knew the specific role he had to play in the Cabinet and shared whatever information he knew with other ministerial colleagues, especially junior ministers. This was true of a majority of others in the newly formed Modi ministry. Just after 7.30PM, the final list of portfolios of the Union ministers was made public.
Secrecy, however, failed to put a damper on speculation.
Yet, notwithstanding wild conjectures, some of which bordered on the laughable, about who would hold which portfolio and about reported bargaining by partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for plum Cabinet berths, no one except those who took the final call—Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and nobody else—knew the details of portfolio allocation.
Notwithstanding conjectures about who would hold which portfolio and reported bargaining by NDA partners for plum cabinet berths, no one except those who took the final call—Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Home Minister Amit Shah and nobody else—knew the details of portfolio allocation
Sources also confirm that contrary to news stories of so-called muscle-flexing and last-minute parleys by NDA allies, the top leadership of BJP decided to do things on their own terms, similar to how they acted in 2014 and 2019 after electoral victories. This was not done because of hubris but thanks to overwhelming consent. “There were no demands and no bargains, which is why the Cabinet of today resembles what was in place in 2014,” reasons a leader close to the matter, emphasising that unequivocal support from allies was the high point of the government-formation exercise in 2024.
After the General Election in 2014, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was part of NDA back then, got the civil aviation ministry—and it is no different this time. TDP’s K Ram Mohan Naidu is the new Cabinet minister for civil aviation. While it is a case of 2014 redux, BJP has retained all portfolios it had held then. Leaders of other NDA constituents and BJP surveyed by Open regret that although no prior conditions were placed by any party in the coalition for its unstinted support, there was no dearth of unverified reports claiming otherwise. Notably, as Open reported last week, the only thing N Chandrababu Naidu insisted on was an NDA meeting a day after the results were announced (‘India Renews Its Trust in Modi’, June 17). His sole motive, as he explained to various leaders of BJP and other NDA partners, was to expedite the formation of the new government under Modi’s leadership. Naidu also insisted that Modi make it to his swearing-in as the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh where he had won a landslide both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Naidu, according to people close to him, made a call to Modi around 10.45AM on the day of the counting of votes on June 4 and requested that a meeting be convened at the earliest since various leaders of NDA had the inkling that BJP on its own might not secure an absolute majority, although the alliance would corner many more seats than required to form the next government. “No demand on portfolio or speaker was made by anyone,” a senior parliamentarian in the know told Open.
That Prime Minister Modi enjoyed a free hand to put in place his ministry was also evident from the statements of various NDA constituents other than TDP and Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), which were quick to suggest that whatever needed to be done had to be done swiftly. Such displays of unambiguous support poured in, much to the anguish of a section of the Opposition which had expected frenetic one-upmanship and intrigue to play out ahead of Cabinet-formation.
Like the others, Shrikant Shinde, MP and son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena, too, had reiterated his party’s backing in an interview: “We have already made it clear that we are supporting the government unconditionally. There is no bargaining here. We are an ideological coalition and we want Prime Minister Modi to carry forward the mission for nation-building that he has been working on for the past 10 years.”
A section of the Opposition, meanwhile, was quick to jump to the conclusion that BJP and its allies do not have any ideological compatibility and that they are aligned with one another owing to political compulsions. A close look at statements from a few of those allies proves ideological cohesion in more ways than one. Take, for instance, the statement by K Ram Mohan Naidu, the new civil aviation minister, about the construction and consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Naidu said on the floor of the House early this year: “I would like to congratulate 140 million Indians on the consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. I would like to take a moment to also congratulate our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and countless other individuals across India who strove hard and sacrificed for the centuries-old dream of having a Ram temple in Ayodhya. I also had the fortune of visiting the Ram Mandir on January 22 in Ayodhya accompanying my honourable leader N Chandrababu Naidu. It was an unforgettable experience in my life. Lord Ram had been a part of this country’s identity for thousands of years. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Somnath to Pasighat, Lord Ram is omnipresent.” K Ram Mohan Naidu, an electrical engineer, is this Cabinet’s youngest minister at 36.
The new government’s ambitious 100-day agenda includes continuing the good work and building upon it with the use of technology and innovative thinking. The comprehensive plan is aimed at putting the country in the fast lane of growth. As with the stress of the union budget, which is meant to give reforms a greater momentum, the middle class will be in focus
This is not the assertion of someone who doesn’t share a sense of purpose and like-mindedness with BJP. On June 13, officially taking charge as minister, K Ram Mohan Naidu wrote “Om Shree Ram” 21 times on a paper seeking divine blessings. The same day, his leader, Chandrababu Naidu vowed to “cleanse” Tirumala, which houses the famous Sri Venkateswara temple. He had accused the previous government of meddling with the affairs of the temple.
Similar sentiments animated the speeches of Pawan Kalyan, the JanaSena Party (JSP) chief and the new deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Kalyan, who played a pivotal role in expanding NDA’s footprint in the southern state, had raised a question in a speech that has since gone viral on social media: “If India is a secular country, why are only Hindu temples alone under government control and not churches or masjids (mosques)?”
Kalyan, while stating that he is secular and that’s why he is against discrimination against Hindus, attacked those he termed pseudo-secularists. Kalyan also attended the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya in January and posted on X: “Lord Rama is the Hero of our Bharat Civilisation. And it took five centuries of struggle to bring back Lord Rama to Ayodhya.”
Again, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Chirag Paswan, currently Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, had visited the Ram temple in Ayodhya as well as the Hanuman Garhi temple there on the last day of polling on June 1. Later, the LJP chief called himself “Hanuman of Narendra Modi”, implying he was as loyal to Modi as Lord Hanuman was to Lord Ram.
SIMPLY PUT, SEVERAL NDA allies have made comments that establish their credentials as pious Hindus who are not averse to unabashedly proclaiming their religiosity in public. All of this puts many of them in the same ideological camp as BJP, in sharp contrast to narratives being spun which suggest that most of them are ideologically incongruent with the Modi-led coalition. Many of their political arguments were in the same vein as BJP’s. More importantly, the longevity of BJP’s ties with key partners, such as the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and the Chandrababu Naidu-headed TDP, is proof of successful associations. They have often laid out their case against the rabid anti-BJPism of certain political entities.
Chirag Paswan, in charge of food processing, had visited the Ram Temple in Ayodhya as well as the Hanuman Garhi Temple there on the last day of polling on June 1. Later, the LJP chief called himself ‘Hanuman of Narendra Modi’, implying he was as loyal to Modi as lord Hanuman was to lord Ram
Shortly after the results were out, both Kumar and Naidu met BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda, at Nadda’s official residence. Nadda did the talking and none of the two allies made any demand whatsoever. With 12 MPs, JD(U) is the biggest BJP ally after TDP which has 16 MPs in Lok Sabha. The use of the 2014 formula in this year’s Cabinet-formation was a smooth affair, according to BJP leaders who spoke to Open. At the same time, the BJP top brass had told the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar shortly after the results were out that they could not be given a Cabinet berth. But such straight talk attracted no quibbles.
Some busybodies in a few political partners were indeed on an overdrive while speaking to the media, but the respective entities were quick to distance themselves from such comments. For instance, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi’s comments on the Agniveer scheme were immediately countered by others from the party authorised to speak on the subject. Tyagi had said on June 6 that his party had offered unconditional support to Modi but wanted the shortcomings in the scheme to be discussed. “A section of voters has been upset over the Agniveer scheme. Our party wants those shortcomings which have been questioned by the public to be discussed in detail and removed,” he was quoted as saying in the media. Tyagi also claimed that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc had offered the prime ministerial post to Kumar. JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha promptly countered it, saying JD(U) did not know about any such development. Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Jha said, “Our party is not aware of it. The chief minister—Nitish Kumar—isn’t aware of it. During the NDA parliamentary party meeting on June 7, Nitish Kumar clearly said that we had formed a pre-poll alliance and we had won three-fourths seats (we contested) in Bihar. He said that we are with the NDA and want PM Modi to become the PM again.”
Modi can take pride in the inclusion in his new cabinet of familiar faces and new ones with an excellent record in governance. As chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan is credited with steering Madhya Pradesh through a massive and successful transformation in agriculture, the portfolio he holds in the Modi cabinet. For the Prime Minister, agriculture is at the core of his governance
As Open had reported earlier after speaking with multiple leaders, the priorities of the allies are vastly different from those aired on chat shows and newsroom discussions. For both JD(U) and TDP, the key prerogative is to put their respective states on the fast track of development, and they expect the Centre to throw its weight behind them.
Prime Minister Modi, meanwhile, can take pride in the inclusion in his new Cabinet of familiar faces and new ones with an excellent record in governance. Besides Nitin Gadkari as minister of road transport and highways, others who had left a mark in their portfolios include Nirmala Sitharaman in the finance ministry, S Jaishankar in external affairs, and so on. Apart from those already named, the stellar line-up in the 72-member Modi ministry includes Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nadda, HD Kumaraswamy, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal, Virendra Kumar, Pralhad Joshi, Jual Oram, Giriraj Singh, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Bhupender Yadav, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Annpurna Devi, Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, G Kishan Reddy, and so on. Adding to the heft are former Chief Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh). As Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister for more than 16 years, Chouhan is credited with steering his state through a massive and successful transformation in agriculture, the portfolio he holds in the Modi Cabinet. Chouhan has already held a meeting with senior officials regarding the “100-day agricultural action plan”, which he said would be accomplished as Modi’s vision. For the prime minister, agriculture is at the core of his governance.
The first file Modi signed taking over as prime minister this time was authorising the “release of the 17th instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme which will benefit 9.3 crore farmers”, according to a communiqué. The instalment amounts to ₹20,000 crore. After signing the file, Modi said, “Ours is a government fully committed to Kisan Kalyan. It is therefore fitting that the first file signed on taking charge is related to farmer welfare. We want to keep working even more for the farmers and the agriculture sector in the times to come.”
On June 13, officially taking charge as civil aviation minister, K Ram Mohan Naidu wrote ‘Om Shree Ram’ 21 times on a paper seeking divine blessings. The same day, his leader, Chandrababu Naidu vowed to ‘cleanse’ Tirumala, which houses the famous Sri Venkateswara temple
On June 10, the day he signed the file, he also met officials at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and talked about uninterrupted governance and called upon the PMO to become an institution of service in the real sense of the word.
Modi addressed the officers and staff there and asserted that it has been an endeavour to make the PMO an institution of service and the People’s PMO from the very beginning. “We have tried to develop the PMO as a catalytic agent which becomes a source of new energy and inspiration,” Modi told them, according to the statement released by the PMO.
“Prime Minister Modi said that the Government means new energy of strength, dedication and resolve and expressed confidence that the PMO is primed to serve the people with dedication. He highlighted that it is not Modi alone who runs the government but thousands of minds that come together and shoulder the responsibilities, and as a result, it is the citizens who become witnesses to the magnificence of its abilities. He underlined that the people who belong to his team have no time constraints, limits to thinking, or any set benchmarks for effort,” the release added.
Modi also thanked those who were part of his team and asked anyone who wished to do so to become a part of the journey of Viksit Bharat for the next five years and dedicate themselves to nation-building. He also told the officers that elections put a stamp of approval on the efforts of government employees. As it expanded its footprint wider, BJP didn’t see much of a shortfall in its vote share despite the gains made by the Opposition in terms of seats. BJP’s vote share went down only marginally from 37.3 per cent in 2019 to 36.6 per cent this time. Equally striking is the fact that Congress’ vote share rose only to 21.2 per cent this time from 19.5 per cent in 2019.
The newly installed government’s ambitious 100-day agenda includes continuing the good work and building upon it with the use of technology and innovative thinking, sources told Open, adding that each ministry will outline its plans of action. The comprehensive plan is aimed at putting the country in the fast lane of growth and forging ahead at an unprecedented pace. As with the stress of the Union Budget, which is meant to give reforms a greater momentum, the middle class will be in focus, people close to the matter said. The new Union ministry—which represents a wide range of Indian aspirations across geographies and groups— expects its actions and schemes to do the talking. Expect a sequel that excels the previous one, a BJP leader forecasts, emphasising that a renewed commitment to bridging the gap between reality and hope is the new dispensation’s primary goal.
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