Speculation about the first cabinet expansion in the second term of the Modi government has been going on for the last several days. The manner in which the governors of four states were changed and four new governors were made on Tuesday, this has further strengthened the speculation of cabinet expansion. After the new ministry 'Ministry of Cooperation', speculation became more solid. On Wednesday, these speculations came to an end when Doordarshan News tweeted with the timing of the cabinet expansion. According to the news channel DD News, on July 7 at 6 pm, the first cabinet expansion of the second term of the Modi government will take place.
Union Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot has been made the Governor of Karnataka. After this, one more post has become vacant in the cabinet. He was a member of Rajya Sabha. Apart from this, after the death of former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and the exit of Akali Dal from the NDA, many cabinet berths were lying vacant and some ministers are holding the charge of two ministries simultaneously. After the cabinet expansion, there is a possibility of reducing the workload of such ministers.
Not only this, the old colleagues who were not involved in the government till now, in the changing equation, they are also expected to find a place in the new expansion. Not that these cabinet berths were not vacant earlier. Nor is Akali Dal's exit from the NDA anything new. But political analysts believe that the assembly elections to be held in the states next year are also a reason behind this expansion. Due to the farmers' movement, the BJP's seat in western UP should not be affected much, an effort can also be seen in this reshuffle.
Talking about the first term of Modi government, there was cabinet expansion thrice in it. After taking oath as the Prime Minister in May 2014, he did the first cabinet expansion in November 2014. Bihar assembly elections were going to be held in the next year i.e. 2015. The second extension of the first term of the Modi government took place in 2016, followed by elections in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat a year later. The third extension of the first term was in 2017, when the next year in 2018 assembly elections were to be held in important states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh.
The first extension of his second term is going to take place on July 7 in 2021, so it is not surprising to see it linked to the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat next year, even for the reasons mentioned above. Those who understand Modi's style of working say, he uses the expansion of the cabinet before the assembly elections in important states as a 'messaging style'. Through this, an attempt is made to give a message to all sections of the society, as was seen in the appointment of Governor on Tuesday.
There are currently more than 50 ministers in the Union Cabinet, while according to the Lok Sabha seats, 81 ministers can be in the cabinet. For this reason, there is talk of about two dozen new faces getting a place in the new team. Although the names of the new faces have not been confirmed yet, but those leaders who have reached Delhi in a hurry are being told ahead in this race.
Among those who reached Delhi, former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and Maharashtra MP and former Chief Minister of the state Narayan Rane are at the forefront. However, Narayan Rane said in a conversation with the media, "Keep coming to Delhi before the Parliament session."
Apart from this, in view of the assembly elections next year, there may be scope for some faces from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand to get a place in the cabinet. In which the name of Anupriya Patel is going on in the forefront. He is considered the big face of OBC. Speculation of his name has been going on since the time he met Amit Shah.
Among the leaders who have been circling in Delhi in the recent past, the name of JDU's president RCP Singh is also the name of the NDA alliance. He can also get a place in the new team. However, the Chief Minister of Bihar has admitted to joining the Modi cabinet without announcing his name. On Tuesday, when reporters in Patna asked Nitish Kumar for information on this, he did not deny it.
Nitish Kumar said, "We will not join, there is no such thing, no one has told us so". However, he also said that whatever decision will be taken in this regard, only party president RCP Singh will tell. Nitish said, "I am not aware of the decision, only the president of our party has the right to speak about it. He is in talks, whatever has to happen in that will happen." JDU is an important ally of NDA. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won 16 seats in Bihar. Even after winning fewer seats than the BJP in the last year's assembly elections, the JDU leader kept the promise made to Nitish Kumar and made him sit on the chief minister's chair.
A name is also going on in the political corridors of Pashupati Paras, who has recently been elected the leader of LJP in the Lok Sabha. However, Chirag Paswan seems particularly annoyed by this. On Tuesday, he even said that if Pashupati Paras is made a minister from LJP quota, then he will go to court regarding this matter.
Apart from this, an attempt can be made to reward the states where assembly elections were held in 2021 and BJP performed better by giving them a place in the cabinet. The biggest name among such people is that of Sarbananda Sonowal. Ever since he left the post of Chief Minister in Assam, there has been talk of him coming to the center. The discussion is also about Sushil Modi, who has left the post of Deputy CM. But it is being told that he is still in Patna.
