New Delhi: Each government has its own 'privileged' top 10 or 15 ministers. The Narendra Modi government also has its top 10 ministers. Some of these ministers were junior ministers in the Vajpayee government between 1998 and 2004. Most others were budding politicians with no real power or fame. The generational shift is clearly visible in Modi's Cabinet.
Rajnath Singh, who was the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister during the Vajpayee regime, is now the Home Minister and number two in the government. The BJP insiders say that it marks the end of the Vajpayee-Advani era in the party and heralds the beginning of the Modi-Rajnath era.
Arun Jaitley, who has got two key portfolios of Defence and Finance, was a mid-level minister in the Vajpayee government. He has now become number 3 in the government, which was Jaswant Singh's position in the Vajpayee administration.
Sushma Swaraj, who held portfolios like Information & Broadcasting, Health and Family Welfare etc in the Vajpayee government, is now the External Affairs Minister. It makes her a part of the top 4 and a member of the Cabinet Committee on Securities (CCS). It was Yashwant Sinha's place in the Vajpayee government.
Another big gainer is Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has got Law and Telecom. He was a junior minister in the Vajpayee government. Modi wants to reform the Telecom sector and give it an image makeover.
Nitin Gadkari, Gopinath Munde and DV Sadananda Gowda, who were state level politicians during the Vajpayee regime, have now become important ministers in Modi government. Gadkari has got key infrastructure portfolios of Highways and Shipping, Munde has got Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Gowda has got Railways.
New entrants like Smriti Irani, Nirmala Seetharaman and Prakash Javadekar were not known to anybody during the Vajpayee regime. Irani was a famous television actor and was not even a member of the BJP. All three have now got key portfolios. Irani has got Human Resources Development (HRD), Seetharaman has got Independent charge of Commerce and is a junior minister in the Finance Ministry and Javadekar has got two key portfolios of Information and Broadcasting and Environment and Forests.
The regional parties have been completely ignored and the BJP allies like Shiv Sena, LJP, TDP, SAD etc have got insignificant portfolios. Unlike the previous governments, Modi government has just two ministers who are above 70 years. But both of them (Kalraj Mishra and Najma Hepthullah) have got lighter portfolios.
Even a high profile BJP MP and LK Advani's close confidante Ananthkumar has got a not so important portfolio of Chemicals and Fertilisers. It has kept him out of the top 10 ministers group. In the Vajpayee government, he held key portfolios like Civil Aviation, Tourism, Urban Development and Rural Development.
Accidental politicians like Retired Army chief General VK Singh have also been rewarded with important tasks. Another big gainer is Dr. Harsh Vardhan who has got Health and Family Welfare ministry. He was a state level politician during the Vajpayee regime.
The old guards like LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Dr CP Thakur have been kept out. They are expected to play the role of advisors and guide.
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