The Cabinet reshuffle undertaken on Sunday showed the emergence of Mr Kamal Nath as a key floor manager and Mr Manish Tewari as the media manager ahead of electoral battles this year and the general election in 2014.
Though 16 new faces were inducted into the Cabinet, the thrust seems to be on bringing a new team to the fore without disturbing the seniors. Mr Kamal Nath is supposed to play floor manager-cum-trouble shooter, a role Mr Pranab Mukherjee had played for over eight years before his election as President of India. And Mr Tewari, who was AICC spokesman till Sunday, will have to ensure “positive” coverage from “hostile” media alleged to be promoting civil society in its fight against corruption.
The controversial mines ministry has been given to Mr Dinsha Patel, known for his clean image, ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls. While Mr M.M. Pallam Raju, Mr Ashwani Kumar, Mr Ajay Maken, Mr Harish Rawat and Mr Dinsha Patel have been promoted to Cabinet rank, Mr Sachin Pilot and Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia have been elevated from MoS to MoS with independent charge. Mr Salman Khurshid has got the high-profile external affairs ministry, seen as a promotion because it comes at a time when he is facing allegations regarding his trust.
Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, another minister known for a clean image, has been given the key portfolio of railways; the Congress gets this ministry back after nearly 16 years. The top ministries of finance, home and defence remained untouched. Mr M.M. Pallam Raju has been made HRD minister against the backdrop of Congress MPs seen opposing HRD-related bills in Parliament.
While Andhra Pradesh has emerged as a gainer, perhaps due to the demand for a separate state of Telangana, not a single MP from Maharashtra got a berth despite four vacancies created by the resignations of Mr Mukul Wasnik, Mr Prithviraj Chavan (after becoming CM) and Mr Gurudas Kamat, and the death of Vilasrao Deshmukh. While Mr Rahman Khan returned with Cabinet rank, Mr Shashi Tharoor rejoined the Cabinet as a minister of state.
Ms Chandresh Kumari Katoch, Mr Lalchand Kataria (Rajasthan), actor-turned-politician K. Chiranjeevi, Mr K.J. Surya Prakash Reddy, Mr Sarve Sathyanarayana, Mr Porika Balram Naik, Dr Kruparani Killi (all from Andhra), Mr K. Rahman Khan (Karnataka), Mr Manish Tewari (Punjab), Mr Ninong Ering (Arunachal Pradesh), Mr K. Suresh (Kerala), Ms Raani Narah (Assam), all from the Congress, and Mr Tariq Anwar of the NCP (RS member from Maharashtra) are the new faces in the Council of Ministers.
In the reshuffle, the Congress’ second rung — Mr M.M. Pallam Raju (HRD), Mr Ajay Maken (housing and urban poverty alleviation) got Cabinet rank while Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia (power), Mr Sachin Pilot (corporate affairs) and Mr Jitendra Singh (youth affairs and sports) became MoS with independent charge. Mr Jitendra Singh will also hold charge as MoS in the defence ministry.
And ministers of state D. Purandeswari (commerce and industry), Mr Jitin Prasada (HRD), Mr R.P.N. Singh (home), Mr K.C. Venugopal (civil aviation) and Mr Rajeev Shukla (parliamentary affairs and planning) have been given important ministries.
Twenty-two ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Mukherjee at a Rashtrapati Bhavan ceremony attended by vice-president Hamid Ansari, the Prime Minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Cabinet ministers, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
The PM took away portfolios from ministers holding more than one charge and filled in the vacancies created by the exit of six Trinamul Congress ministers, the death of Vilasrao Deshmukh and the resignations of S.M. Krishna, Virbhadra Singh, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik and Subodh Kant Sahai.
Chiranjeevi has been made MoS with independent charge in the tourism ministry. Mr Shashi Tharoor, who had to quit as MoS for external affairs in April 2010 in the wake of allegations connected to the IPL, has made a comeback as MoS for HRD. Telecom minister Kapil Sibal gave up the HRD portfolio to Mr M.M. Pallam Raju.
Another significant promotion has been made in the case of Mr Ashwani Kumar, who has been upgraded to Cabinet rank and given charge of the law ministry earlier held by Mr Salman Khurshid. Yet another upgradation was that of Mr Harish Rawat, who was overlooked for the post of Uttarakhand CM earlier this year and had revolted. From MoS for agriculture, he has now been made the Cabinet minister for water resources.