Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday effected an expansion of his Council of Ministers and promoted Minister of State (Independent charge) for Environment and Forests Prakash Javdekar to Cabinet rank in a ceremony held at the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Besides Mr. Javadekar, 19 new Ministers (17 new faces and two old hands) took oath as Ministers of State. The Council of Ministers now has 77 members. The previous strength of the government was 63 (after Gopinath Munde died and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP Maharashta chief Rao Saheb Danve quit). Five Ministers of State tendered their resignation on Tuesday, leaving 58 Ministers in the earlier batch.
The total strength of the Union Council of Ministers has been capped at 82.
Political messaging
Every expansion of the Council of Ministers is a part of the political messaging of the government and this was no different. Inclusion of three from Uttar Pradesh, Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal, who commands support among the OBC Kurmi community in the State; Krishna Raj from the SC reserved seat of Shahjahanpur; and Mahendranath Pandey, MP from Chandouli near Varanasi and a Brahmin, gave a clue to the BJP’s social coalition plans in the State.
For Uttarakhand, which is to go to the polls, the party steered clear of senior leaders like Bhagat Singh Koshiyari or even Ramesh Pokhriyal to plump for Almora MP Ajay Tamta, who is a Dalit.
In the case of Gujarat, which goes to the polls next year as well, former State unit chief Purushottam Rupala alias Kadva Patel has been included along with Mansukhbhai Mandavia, who belongs to the Leuva Patel community, thus balancing each other out. The third induction from the State, Jaswant Singh Bhabhore, is a tribal. From Karnataka, Ramesh Jigajingi has been inducted.
The inclusion of S S Ahluwalia is clearly aimed at better coordination with the Opposition, which as a former Congressman, he is expected to help with.
