Prime Minister Narendra Modi roped into his team 43 new Cabinet ministers, including 36 new faces on Wednesday evening, in a move that was met with both surprise and speculation.
The announcement of the portfolios was preceded by high-profile exits, with Harsh Vardhan vacating the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ravi Shankar Prasad resigning from the post of Union Law Minister, and Prakash Javadekar stepping down as the Union Minister for Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY).
However, the saffron party has been cautious in not reshuffling the ministers heading Home, Finance, Defence, and Agriculture.
With one eye on the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Modi government elevated the likes of Apna Dal chief Anupriya Patel — who hails from the 'Karni' community that wields a sizeable influence on elections — to MoS Agriculture, and six other MPs from the poll-bound state as it seeks to tap into the Brahmin, SC and dominant OBC communities.
Across states, the Centre inducted 27 ministers belonging to the OBC section, an affirmation of their large and more importantly, influential population, be it in Karnataka or Uttar Pradesh.
In a bid to come off as a party that is serious about its promises of women empowerment, seven new women MPs were also offered a berth in the Cabinet, with the total female cabinet ministers now up to 11. This tally is the highest since 2004 under the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, that had 10 women as part of the Cabinet.
Modi's 'sab ka saath, sab ka vikas' message was also seen from a geographical sense, with as many as 25 states and Union Territories being represented.
A few party members were also awarded for their loyalty and services during previous Assembly polls – the likes of former Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal and ex-Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Published 08 July 2021, 11:58 IST