Wednesday’s Cabinet shuffle, besides being sweeping in scope, is remarkable for four reasons: it has taken performance and governance into account; it marks an outreach to NDA allies; it seeks to consolidate the BJP’s social base among certain communities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal; and, finally, it sends out an alluring signal to those in the Opposition who may be considering a cross-over. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it would seem, has responded to criticism over the handling of the second wave as well as the run-ins with social media giants. This perhaps explains the exit of Harsh Vardhan, his deputy Ashwini Choubey and Ravi Shankar Prasad. The exit of the HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, whose performance has been lacklustre, does not come as a surprise. Modi’s housecleaning is an attempt to spruce up the Raisina Hills with a more youthful and professional team of lawyers, experienced administrators, career bureaucrats and technocrats.

Besides sending out a governance signal, the reshuffle is also an exercise in political optics and social engineering. The expanded Cabinet makes room for OBCs/SCs and STs in 25 States. A special case is Uttar Pradesh from where six of the seven newly-inducted ministers from that State are from OBC and SC communities. The lone exception is Ajay Mishra, who completes the BJP’s outreach towards the Brahmins who constitute roughly 13 per cent of the politically critical State. From Bihar, the elevation of Pashupati Nath Kumar Paras, an SC leader from Ramvilas Paswan’s party, and RCP Singh, a Kurmi (OBC) leader and president of the Janata Dal (United), shows not just a spirit of accommodation for the alliance partners in the NDA but also a clear outreach towards the marginalised communities. From West Bengal, the BJP would like to propel its social engineering project further by consolidating the OBCs and SCs, the namashudras with the appointment of Bangaon MP Santanu Thakur and Nisith Paramanik. The fresh team also heralds a spirit of accommodation towards allies such as the Janata Dal (United) and the Apna Dal after the NDA lost longstanding partners Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena. A showcasing of Jyotiraditya Scindia in a powerful portfolio would send a tantalising invitation across the political spectrum. A salutary move is the induction of seven more women ministers, adding to Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, Niranjan Jyoti and Renuka Singh Srota. Nishank’s ouster, combined with the elevation of Ajay Bhatt, a Brahmin, and the recent appointment as chief minister of Pushkar Singh Dhami, a Rajput, completes the BJP’s caste calculus in Uttarakhand where the two communities make up roughly 60 per cent of the population.

The challenge now is to combine autonomy with collective responsibility of the Cabinet (Articles 74 and 75). The new team should have the autonomy to deliver in a set-up where the reins are considered to be held by a tiny few.

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