NEW DELHI: The free hand BJP’s 303 seats in the Lok Sabha has given Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in evidence on Thursday evening as he replaced 40% of his ministers, dropping veterans like Sushma Swaraj and Suresh Prabhu, and sprung a surprise by picking former foreign secretary S Jaishankar as a Cabinet minister.

Expectations that Modi will send several signals at the start of his second term were not belied. The PM made it clear that the process of raising a new rung of leaders has begun in right earnest and he won’t be constrained by reputations. Within the limitations of working with a finite pool, the exclusions demonstrate that “merit” and “fitness” have been applied as criteria.

Modi’s team has a new look to it and the message of change will be amplified if Amit Shah takes over as home minister, a very strong possibility according to sources who mentioned another Cabinet Committee on Security berth — finance ministry — as another possible assignment for the BJP president.

There were indications of Rajnath Singh moving to defence to replace Nirmala Sitharaman who, in case Shah turns out to be the pick for home ministry, may shift to finance.

The boldness of the ‘majboot sarkar’ extended to its dealing with allies, with BJP refusing to heed the demand of JD(U) for more berths, and sparked speculation about the possibility of significant changes in the PMO too.

There are two elevations in the Cabinet — Giriraj Singh and Gajendra Shekhawat — and seven new faces. In the MoS independent charge, there is one new induction while there are 15 in the minister of state category. There are six women among 58 members of the council of ministers. There were nine in the outgoing council.

Seniors like foreign minister Swaraj seem to have made way for others on grounds of health as well as the consideration that the ministry needs newer thinking. Jaishankar’s selection reflects close synergy with Modi’s view of foreign policy as a means to build strategic economic and political alliances. It also ties in with NSA Ajit Doval ’s approach to geopolitics and security. Jaishankar’s arrival will also help with trade negotiations with the US and the Asia-Pacific.

Sources mentioned that outgoing law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was among the probables for the commerce ministry. Former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who has been retained as minister of state with independent charge, is being mentioned as another possible choice for the commerce ministry because of his experience of international negotiations and trade disputes.

The make-up of the council of ministers is interesting as it bears the stamp of discussions between Modi and Shah. It displays a preparedness to make space for newcomers and gamble on fresh blood and newer approaches to politics and governance.

Though hotheads like Sanjeev Balyan and Giriraj Singh are in the council — in fact, Singh has been elevated to Cabinet rank — the party bosses have dealt sternly with motormouths who have been in the midst of controversy. Karnataka leader Anant Hegde shot his mouth off on the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi was in the news for inappropriate comments on Muslims.

After the comments of Malegaon-accused Pragya Thakur, Nalin Kateel and Hegde praising Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, Modi had said that he would never be able to “forgive” them from his heart.

Among notable exclusions are former minister of state for sports and youth affairs and ex-Olympian Rajyavardhan Rathore, culture minister Mahesh Sharma, civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha, tourism minister K J Alphons, agriculture minister Radhamohan Singh, health minister J P Nadda, MoS health Anupriya Patel, steel minister Birendra Singh, MoS parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel, MoS HRD Satyapal Singh, MoS law P P Chaudhary, MoS rural development Ramkripal Yadav, MoS consumer affairs C R Chaudhary and MoS finance Shiv Pratap Shukla

The axe seems to have been wielded on ministers who do not seem to have matched Modi’s pace and not kept abreast with expectations that they will deliver in their ministries and will be political assets.

Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan. “Honoured to serve India!” tweeted Modi after being sworn in for his second consecutive term as a Prime Minister with a full majority.

Other senior ministers who took oath include D V Sadananda Gowda, Nirmala Sitharaman and Ram Vilas Paswan. There was no representative from Janata Dal (United) with the party saying that it did not want a “token participation”. Though not spelt out, this might be a friction point in the future, particularly if the party’s leaders begin to criticise BJP and government policies as they did in the first term.

Former finance minister Arun Jaitley had written to Modi on Wednesday and said he didn't want to be a part of the new government due to health reasons. The PM had called on him on Wednesday evening in what is seen as a gesture signalling his support to the former minister who is under medical advice.

Cabinet ministers who were part of the outgoing government and have been sworn in again include Narendra Singh Tomar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsimrat Kaur Badal , Thawar Chand Gehlot, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Prakash Javadekar, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Among those who were inducted are former Uttarakhand CM Ramesh Pokhriyal and Jharkhand ex-CM Arjun Munda.

Karnataka leader Pralhad Joshi and BJP UP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey and Shiv Sena’s Arvind Sawant were other inclusions.

Those who took oath as minister of state with independent charge are Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Rao Inderjit Singh, Shripad Yesso Naik, Jitendra Singh, Kirren Rijiju, Prahalad Singh Patel (a new inclusion), R K Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri and Mansukh Mandaviya.

The ministers of state are Faggan Singh Kulaste, Ashwini Choubey, Arjun Meghwal, V K Singh, Krishan Pal, Danve Dadarao, G Kishan Reddy, Parshottam Rupala, Ramdas Athawale, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Babul Supriyo, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Anurag Singh Thakur, Angadi Suresh Channabasappa, Nityanand Rai, Rattan Lal Kataria, V Muraleedharan, Renuka Singh Saruta, Som Parkash, Rameswar Teli, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Kailash Choudhary, Debasree Chaudhuri.

There are 24 Cabinet ministers and the same number of ministers of state and nine have been given the minister of state with independent charge rank. The council can have up to 80 ministers.

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