Cabinet Reshuffle Based on Modi Government’s Motto of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Cabinet on July 7; the highlight being induction of 36 new Ministers into the Council and seven junior Ministers getting promotion. So now, 30 Ministers will be holding the Union Cabinet rank while 45 will hold the charge as Ministers of State, and two will be of Independent charge, in the revised structure. With this, the total strength of the cabinet has increased to 77.

The new structure will consist of change of portfolios for some. Meanwhile, all new Ministers will be meeting BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda on July 8 at party headquarters. Apart from 15 Cabinet Ministers, 28 Ministers of State were sworn in at a ceremony held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

In a major development just ahead of the expansion, 11 Union Ministers – Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Animal and Husbandry Minister Pratap Sarangi, Women and Child Welfare Minister Debasree Chaudhuri and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre, Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, MoS Jal Shakti and Social Justice and Empowerment Ratan Lal Kataria, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had resigned from their respective post.

PM Modi overhauled important Ministries such as Education, Health, IT and Social Justice. The Ministers of both the Cabinet and State ranks were dropped from these Ministries. Ravi Shankar Prasad and Harsh Vardhan headed Ministries that came in for sharp criticism in recent times over social media rules and COVID-19 management respectively. Their exit from the Council of Ministers was shocking as they were earlier considered part of the core team. However, Dr. Harshvardhan’s exit raises many questions as well, and leaves the supporters shocked and clueless. Inclusion of LJP’s Pashupati Kumar Paras as a Cabinet Minister is another decision that raises questions about the selection criteria.

The Cabinet expansion held out an important message to the BJP cadre, delivering results for the party will be rewarded. Pratima Bhoumik from Tripura, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Madhya Pradesh and Shantanu Thakur, Nishith Pramanik, John Barla, Subhash Sarkar from West Bengal are those who helped the party to gain strength in their respective states.

Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Puri, Anurag Thakur, Mansukh Mandaviya and G Kishan Reddy were among seven Ministers of State (MoS) elevated to the cabinet rank.

The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded its Council of Ministers, the first such exercise in his second term. The list of Ministers also indicates that due attention has been given to upcoming Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The focus has been on Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. Uttar Pradesh is the most crucial state for the BJP given the number of Lok Sabha seats. The inclusion of the allies like JD(U) and Apna Dal indicates that the Modi government is focusing on strengthening NDA as a major alliance. The move will boost the confidence of its allies and the same will prove beneficial for the saffron party in the coming polls.

The formation of the new cabinet is based on the foundation of Experience and Merit. It includes four former Chief Ministers, 18 former Ministers of State,