Amit Shah's imprint on cabinet reshuffle

BJP president's influence evident from inclusion of Jagat Prakash Nadda, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

The Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday not only augmented the talent pool of the Narendra Modi-led council of ministers, but also raised the stature of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah within the party.

Shah’s stamp on those inducted was most evident with the inclusions of Jagat Prakash Nadda, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. The party has also invested in its future in West Bengal by making Babul Supriyo a minister.

Apart from Nadda, the other three had hoped to find a place among the ministers who first took the oath of office on May 26. Of the four, Nadda and Naqvi are Rajya Sabha MPs, Rudy is an MP from Bihar and Rathore from Rajasthan.

Nadda, at least until then, was being spoken of as possible successor to party president Rajnath Singh. His contribution to the victory of the party in the Lok Sabha elections was acknowledged in post-election meetings. Nadda had held the fort at party headquarters when Modi was crisscrossing the country and Shah concentrated on Uttar Pradesh.

Nadda, through June and July, willingly played his role of being a red herring when names for the new BJP head were being discussed in party circles and the media. His was said to be one of the names but Nadda was under little illusion. On August 9, Shah became party president and Nadda booked a berth to the Cabinet for unstinted loyalty. Similarly, Rudy, a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet, couldn’t find a place in the original council of ministers after his name was opposed by the Bihar unit. Rudy was upset but ably followed the script written by Shah as points-person for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance talks in Maharashtra.

Olympian Rathore couldn’t get a slot since Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje wanted her nominees in the Modi ministry. In the event, only one MP from Rajasthan was inducted and as a junior minister. It was meagre representation for a state that had sent all its 25 Lok Sabha members in the BJP kitty. Naqvi has also been rewarded for being patient. He was upset at not being made a minister in May but kept faith with the new leadership.