Five months after winning the General Elections, the Narendra Modi led BJP Government has finally started putting in place a High Performing Politicians in the Government Ministries through a major Cabinet reshuffle / expansion. Seen alongside the major changes announced in the civil service over the past fortnight, these changes suggest that the NDA is keen to Add technical firepower to the Government (eg. Suresh Prabhu, Jayant Sinha, and Hasmukh Adhia)
The Cabinet expansion saw the induction of Suresh Prabhu and Jayant Sinha into the Central Cabinet. Both of these individuals are known for their technical competence. Whilst the former is expected to head the Railways, Coal or Power Ministries, Jayant Sinha is expected to take over as a Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance. Additionally, the fact that Manohar Parrikar has been inducted as the Defence Minister (in all probability) suggests that Arun Jaitley (who was also heading the Defence Ministry) will now be able to devote more time and attention to the Ministry of Finance.
Additionally, given that only one MP from Rajasthan enjoyed a meaningful role in New Delhi, the Cabinet expansion saw
Rajasthani’s like Sanwar Lal Jat and Mohan Kundariya being inducted (presumably as a reward for the BJP’s strong showing in last month’s state elections in Rajasthan).
The fact that ministers from key States such as those mentioned above as well as Maharashtra have been recruited into the Central cabinet is likely to mean that the Centre’s relationship with a number of States (especially BJP-run states) is likely to improve going forward.
Bureaucratic Resuffle
Following this change, out of the four UPA appointed finance secretaries, only Ratan P Watal (Andhra Pradesh cadre, 1978 batch, Expenditure Secretary) has retained his position whilst the remaining three have been now replaced by the BJP.