Rahul Takes Poll PositionFuels Rise Of Youth Brigade With Eye To '14
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "last reshuffle" of his ministerial team before the 2014 general elections on Sunday carries the first unmistakable stamp of Rahul Gandhi's ascendancy in the Congress party. Coming amid strong indications that Gandhi may soon be designated as secretary general or working president of the Congress, Sunday's changes were seen to be significant—it appeared to mark the beginning of another generational shift in the 127-year-old party. The reshuffle is also an effort to put the party in battle mode for the 2014 polls.
The Congress's "younger set", championed by Rahul, has got a leg-up and key positions in the reshuffle, in which as many as 17 new faces were inducted. In terms of its sweep, nearly a third of Singh's cabinet colleagues—10 out of 32—have been impacted by Sunday's changes.
Jyotiraditya
Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Manish Tewari, Jitendra Singh and Bharatsinh Solanki have all been assigned independent charge of ministries while Ajay Maken has been promoted to cabinet rank. Taken together, the upgrades suggest a vote for the young and a desire to experiment.
While the younger set didn't enter politics because of the Congress scion, the clear focus on them in this reshuffle is being widely ascribed to Rahul's growing involvement in government affairs. According to sources, this was the first time that Rahul cast aside his aloofness to discuss the ministerial team with the PM. Rahul's imprint, PM's blueprint W hether he played a role in the elevation of Pallam Raju, till now junior minister in defence, as cabinet minister for HRD, is not known, but with his influence looming large, Rahul Gandhi was also credited for Raju's rise.
At 48, Ajay Maken is the youngest Cabinet minister, while 50-year-old Raju is seen as the youngest HRD minister in recent memory. Even Salman Khurshid at 59 looks a youthful foreign minister compared to his predecessors — S MKrishna, Pranab Mukherjee and Natwar Singh.
Besides Rahul's imprint, the exercise also reflects the PM's desire to repair his legacy by focusing on infrastructure ministries in the last stretch of his second innings, as well as his desire to pitch in for his favourites: Kamal Nath, Pawan Bansal, Ashwani Kumar and Khurshid have all fared well.
Sunday's big shocker was the shunting of S Jaipal Reddy from the high-profile petroleum ministry to a relatively obscure science and technology. The change came as a surprise, and was seen as an "insult" by the supporters of the affable minister. Coming against the backdrop of the ministry's recent pushback of the influence of business interests in the oil sector, it raised eyebrows too.
The PM's focus on infrastructure ministries was reflected in Jyotiraditya Scindia being given independent charge of the power ministry, which has languished through UPA's two terms. Bansal's appointment as railway minister is seen as an effort to align the key transport sector with the PM's fresh focus on reforms.
Bansal is the first full-time Cabinet minister belonging to the Congress to hold charge of railways after C K Jaffer Sharief in 1995. His choice puts an end to the east's domination of railways beginning 1996, and more than compensates the Chandigarh MP for the loss of the ministries of water resources and parliamentary affairs.
In terms of representation from states, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal and Gujarat have done well. However, in a glaring oversight, those in charge failed to ensure even a single representation for the entire eastern and northeastern region, which together make up for 142 Lok Sabha seats, in the cabinet.
Khurshid's appointment as external affairs minister marks a rebuff to allegations of impropriety against him and clears the way for the first Muslim to be part of the Cabinet Committee on Security in 22 years, after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed served as home minister under V P Singh. Urban development minister Kamal Nath's networking skills have been recognized by giving him the additional charge of parliamentary affairs.  |
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