Manohar Parrikar's elevation as Defence Minister will effectively make him a defacto No 3 in Modi's cabinet. His elevation will cause some disquiet among the older leadership of the party.

Outgoing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s giant leap to Delhi as India’s next defence minister has upended the hierarchy in the Modi government. He is straightaway being catapulted to a de facto No 3 rank at the centre, though this is unlikely to be the official pecking order. The actual ranking will be known when the revised list of the Council of Ministers is issued by the Cabinet Secretariat after Sunday’s 1.30 pm swearing-in ceremony. Apart from Parrikar, several other senior and junior ministers are expected to take the oath of office and secrecy in Modi’s first cabinet shuffle. Some doubtful performers may also be moved aside.

“Home Minister Rajnath Singh is the official No 2 in Modi’s cabinet, but in terms of proximity to the PM, Arun Jaitley is the de facto No 2. Parrikar, with the PM’s strong backing, could thus come at No 3, ahead of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. If Parrikar makes a success of his new brief, he is on course to make it to the top of the BJP leadership in government and party in the future. He has age and credentials on his side,” a senior government functionary said. An IIT Bombay alumnus who also enjoys the confidence of the RSS, Parrikar is in the inside lane. Parrikar will turn 59 this December.

In the pecking order of the new Council of Ministers, Parrikar would effectively stand taller than the likes of Nitin Gadkari and Venkaiah Naidu, both former party presidents.

The decisiveness with which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made this change leaves no scope for confusion in the minds of senior leaders about Parrikar’s new primacy both in party and government. This could well be the longer term arrangement.

This sudden rise of a new power in the ministry has caused a lot of unease in the party’s top leadership, a senior BJP leader told Firstpost: “It’s like an out-of-turn promotion for a services chief or a top secretary. It not only affects the present hierarchy but also the future command structure.”

“However, unlike other out-of-turn promotions, there will not be any public display of dissent by any of the ministers who may feel threatened by Parrikar’s elevation. The muttering happens only in private. Modi’s control over of party and government is so total that no one will come out in the open with his or her misgivings. But that’s a good thing; the PM’s authority should be like that”, said the BJP source. Modi himself has been “an outsider” to Delhi, and so was Amit Shah. Parrikar will be a third.

Parrikar’s move also indicates that the party does not have a strong enough bench strength to run government or national politics. He has been brought in to fill the gap at one critical level. Currently, many ministers hold two or more key ministries, including Nitin Gadkari, with Road Transport and Rural Development, and Ravi Shankar Prasad, with Law and Company Affairs. Parrikar’s move to Delhi will help Arun Jaitley shed defence and focus on finance.

The fact that Modi convinced a reluctant Parrikar to move to Delhi is indicative of the confidence and trust he has in the latter. This will help Parrikar settle in and establish his credentials quickly in Delhi.

Besides being an efficient organiser and proven administrator, what went in Parrikar’s favour was his impeccable credentials as an honest politician – something Modi values above all else. With defence deals worth thousands of crores in the pipeline, Modi wanted somebody whose personal integrity was beyond doubt. Conventional wisdom suggests that it is not prudent to have a leader from a small-sized state like Goa to head such a big position at the centre, but Modi is no respecter of conventional wisdom.

As defence minister, Parrikar becomes part of the Big Five of the Union government, including the Prime Minister, who rule over North Block and South Block. The Big Five are all members of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

As per protocol, the defence minister has some standalone moments of glory on ceremonial occasions like the Republic Day parade. The Indian defence forces have several bilateral and multilateral agreements and obligations. Most of these agreements, including some with the USA and Israel, are of great strategic importance and involve immense secrecy.

Given the frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the Line of Control and international border, and also the Chinese incursions along the Line of Actual Control, the need for a strong and full-time defence minister was paramount. Parrikar has his job cut out. The new assignment will be a stiff challenge to him, but it will also provide him a platform to build a reputation for the future.

Modi’s Goa connect has proved lucky for him, be it in April 2002, when he managed to retain the CM’s post in Gujarat after the post-Godhra violence, or in June 2013, when he was anointed the BJP’s face for the parliamentary elections. After he became Prime Minister, Modi’s first outstation trip was to Goa to dedicate India’s largest warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation. Now he has chosen a man from Goa to secure India’s borders and send a message to one and all that nobody should mess with India.