Narendra ModiPrime minister Narendra Modi's induction of nearly a score new faces into his ministry looks more like an opportunity wasted. Because the new faces don't inspire one about bringing in fresh political thinking and initiative at the top.
Some of the new ministers are professionals and academics, and that seems in line with the way the prime minister has been running his government with the help of a selected band of bureaucrats who can get things done. Modi has also inducted some politicians, more to cater to political interests in various states. By the way, does the elevation of Prakash Javadekar to cabinet rank and more ministers from Maharashtra hint at an early election there? Quite a possibility as ally Shiv Sena has been behaving more like an opposition party in the state.
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But the key point here is none of the new faces threaten the power structure at the top of the Modi ministry and therefore bring little independent thinking to the government. There are more political lightweights here who can take orders, fall in meekly with the way things are run, and be mere cogs in a Modi-Shah dispensation. The prime minister himself wanted “doers and performers,” and – mind you - not leaders.
One complaint about the Modi ministry is that bureaucrats around the PM run the show. Babus can be good at execution but they don't know the pulse of the people. Of course, Modi and Amit Shah have the people connect, but after them, the graph falls off rather sharply. There are leaders like Nitin Gadkari but very few otherwise who can claim mass grassroot support in this government. That is a big drawback in a democracy.
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One can expect the ministers with professional backgrounds – like Subhash Bhamre, a surgeon, and P.P. Chaudhary, a lawyer to act more like the PM's babus who are good at execution and obeying orders. But they don’t bring fresh political ideas or will be good conduits for feedback from the people.
Granted, Modi and Shah do not have the luxury of a large pool of political talent to fish in. Because the BJP has not been in power for long and it only had one previous stint at governance of the country. That is precisely why the PM should have used this opportunity to build up administrative talent and stronger leaders with independent thought and vision in the party.
This was an opportunity for the PM to bring in more political talent and use that to (a) create leaders with more people connect and (b) develop his own ministry's people connect. That would have helped more information to flow to the top, eliminating the political and ideological filters that can skew such information flow. It may not sound like a big drawback now as the Congress misrule is still fresh in public memory, but public memory can be notoriously short.
If Modi had brought in more political talent at the top, it would have shown that he has a long-term political vision for his party and his ideology. Sadly, this ministry expansion seems to have been governed by a more near-sighted, self-centred vision.
Modi and Shah have blown this opportunity for a revamp, and probably were worried more about keeping the current power structure at the top secure. A certain amount of that insecurity is understandable as the BJP does not have a dynasty at the top like the Congress. But Modi is the strongest PM in recent times and had a sweeping mandate from the people. He should have used this opportunity to step out of his comfort zone, shed his insecurity and acted to a long-term plan – more like a statesman and mass leader.
Another point is that Kerala's hopes have been dashed. But that is understandable given that upcoming elections in some states were the priority here. And Suresh Gopi, despite the hype, is no big asset for the BJP. But there was Richard Hay, the nominated LS member from Kerala. The man has a proven academic track record and talent. But that is another opportunity lost.
(The views expressed here are personal)
