Modi expands Cabinet, eyes 2019 election

DELHI: Narendra Modi’s promise in 2014, before he became India’s prime minister, was to usher in an era of “maximum governance and minimum government.”

But three and a half years later, he has expanded a 46-member Council of Ministers to 76, the third expansion in as many years.

While six ministers lost their jobs in the Cabinet reshuffle, there are nine new faces. By appointing Nirmala Sitharaman as defense minister, “Modi wanted to send a message that gender isn’t a barrier and personal loyalty will be rewarded,” political analyst and author Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay told Arab News.

Urmilesh, a political analyst based in New Delhi, said the Cabinet expansion and reshuffle are an attempt to shore up the government’s popularity “after a spate of train accidents, hospital deaths in government hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, and mindless violence in northern India.”

Urmilesh raised concerns over the appointment of right-wing hard-liners such as Anant Kumar Hegde and Ashwini Kumar Choubey. “By choosing such divisive names, Modi is displaying his political leanings,” he said.

Before India’s general election in 2019, there will be crucial regional polls in important states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa in early 2018.

If the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) performs well in the hustings, it would provide momentum for its re-election bid in 2019.

“Modi thinks 2019 is attainable, and there are certain weak spots that need to be identified and fixed, so he’s bringing in new people to fix that. That’s why the Railway Ministry has a new face in Piyush Goyal,” said Mukhopadhyay.

Regarding the inclusion of four retired civil servants, Urmilesh said: “In Modi’s Cabinet there’s a dearth of talent. By bringing in four outsiders, the BJP wants to address that intellectual deficit.”

According to India’s constitution, the Cabinet’s size cannot exceed 15 percent of the 545 members of the Lower House, or 82.