The Union Cabinet reshuffle may have been designed to create an impact in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are due next year, but the changes are unlikely to change the dwindling fortunes of the party in the state.
The elevation of two ministers to the Cabinet rank and the inclusion of one minister of state with independent charge are unlikely to send out the right messages among the voters.
The elevation of Shri Prakash Jaiswal and Salman Khurshid to the Cabinet rank has been rendered meaningless since both have been given portfolios that do not directly benefit the voters. Shri Prakash Jaiswal with coal and Mr Salman Khurshid with water resources do not have anything to offer directly to their voters, in particular, and the state, in general.
Their elevation, however, could help in consolidating their respective vote banks to a limited extent but the problem here is that both the leaders are not known as caste leaders and have never pressed their caste credentials. The inclusion of Beni Prasad Varma in the Union Cabinet as minister of state with independent charge seems to be a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the Congress.
His inclusion, it appears, has been hastily done to prevent him from returning to the SP. Reports of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav wooing back Beni Prasad Varma had been appearing in the media and Mr Varma’s frequent outbursts against the Congress leadership further fuelled such reports. However, his induction into the Cabinet has left his supporters vastly disappointed.
“Mr Varma was a Cabinet rank minister in the United Front government and this time he has been given a minister of state status. This is an insult to him. Besides, with the steel portfolio under his arm, he has nothing to offer to his voters,” said a supporter, adding that they were expecting him to be given the telecom portfolio, considering his previous experience in the same ministry. Mr Varma’s inclusion also points to the fact that the Congress wants to make inroads into the OBC votebank by wooing the Kurmi voters that are as much — if not more — powerful as the Yadavs in UP.