Modi's cabinet reshuffle to give greater representation to OBCs and dalits

BJP looking at Anupriya Patel as its chief ministerial face in UP

With an eye on the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to use the reshuffle of his council of ministers as an opportunity to accommodate more Dalit and OBC faces in his cabinet. The most interesting inclusion is likely to be of Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel. She is being seen as a possible chief ministerial face for the UP assembly polls.

Anupriya, 35, daughter of OBC Kurmi leader late Sonelal Patel, could merge her party in the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Apna Dal was an ally of the BJP in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and won two seats in UP. Patel is an MP from UP’s Mirzapur seat and was a legislator from Rohaniya, an assembly segment that is part of the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, in 2012.

 

A graduate from New Delhi’s Lady Sri Ram College, Anupriya has given a good account of herself in the Lok Sabha with her articulate interventions during discussions and debates. With Home Minister Rajnath Singh unwilling and Varun Gandhi unacceptable to the party leadership, Anupriya would be an ideal young face against current CM Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati.

Other OBCs to be included in the cabinet could include PP Chaudhary. A Supreme Court advocate, Chaudhary is a Lok Sabha member from Rajasthan’s Pali seat. Apart from this, old party loyalists like Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goyal could also get a look in. From Gujarat, Purushottam Rupala could get a berth. Ahluwalia will also be a Sikh face with elections to Punjab assembly due in early 2017.

Several of BJP’s Dalit MPs are likely to be included in the cabinet. Rajasthan MP Arjun Ram Meghwal is likely to get a cabinet berth. He is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer and currently the party chief whip in Lok Sabha. Meghwal is an MP from Bikaner. Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawale, a Rajya Sabha MP, is also likely to be included. Athawale has a significant following among the Dalits in Maharashtra. The crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are due in early 2017. From Uttarakhand, where elections are also due by February 2017, Almora MP Ajay Tamta is likely to be included. Tamta is a Dalit. Lok Sabha member from UP’s Shahjahanpur Krishna Raj might also find a place. She is a Dalit leader and a two time legislator.

Apart from this, ministers Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan could get cabinet ranks. Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha member Anil Dave, who recently earned much praise as the head of Parliamentary committee on Real Estate Bill, is another possible inclusion, as is his Upper House colleague MJ Akbar. Some of the existing ministers could get dropped. Three of the vacancies are to be filled. These are of Sarbananda Sonowal, Raosaheb Danve Patil and Vijay Sampla. Sonowal is now the Assam CM, while Patil and Sampla are the chiefs of BJP's Maharashtra and Punjab units, respectively.

Subsequent to the changes in the council of ministers, BJP President Amit Shah will also reshuffle and expand his team of 39 office bearers. It would keep in mind the forthcoming assembly elections to five states, including UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa. Currently, there isn’t even a single Dalit face in Shah’s team.

A recent opinion poll by VDP Associates has forecasted a photo-finish between the BSP and BJP in Uttar Pradesh. It has predicted 29 per cent vote share for the BSP, 28 per cent for BJP and 22 per cent for the ruling Samajwadi Party. The survey agency had forecasted the results of assembly elections to West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry held in April and May with significant accuracy.