May 31, 2019
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has replaced nearly half of his previous Cabinet in his new Council of Minister which took oath yesterday, and given representation to different states and various caste and social groups in an attempt to broaden BJP’s reach.
However, BJP’s important ally JD(U) in the Hindi belt state of Bihar has not joined the team, miffed over the offer of only one Cabinet berth.
Otherwise, most of the states and allies have been included in the team giving it a truly national character.
While a number of veterans stay on, as many as 19 new faces have come in, while 36 old faces are gone.
The composition of council of ministers reflects the Prime Minister’s attempts to expand BJP’s reach in new areas where it has scored victories in this election, like in West Bengal and Odisha. He has also give strong representation to those states where the BJP has solod base, like UP and Maharashtra.
By inducting former foreign secretary S. Jaishankar in the cabinet, Modi’s has give the key ministry of external affairs to an expert. Former Indian Foreign Service Officer Hardeep Singh Puri, who lost Lok Sabha election from Amritsar, has also been inducted.
While Artun Jaitley had opted out of the cabinet due to his health, senior party leader Sushma Swaraj had not contested the Lok Sabha election.
BJP is likely to make efforts to persuade JD-U to join the council of ministers.
India News Stream