BJP's focus is on electoral states, how to balance the political equation with Modi's cabinet?
BJP has made 3 ministers from Haryana, 4 from Maharashtra, 2 from Jharkhand, 1 each from Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi from its quota in the electoral states. Assembly elections are also going to be held in Bihar next year. In such a situation, the BJP has made four MPs ministers from its quota. JDU has got the post of cabinet minister in Bihar. Similarly, many leaders from Maharashtra have become ministers.
President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with cabinet colleagues after the swearing-in ceremony
NDA government has been formed once again in the country under the leadership of Narendra Modi, but in this Lok Sabha election, the BJP has suffered a major setback in many important states. BJP has suffered political losses, especially in those states where assembly elections are to be held. PM Modi has tried to woo the electoral states through the cabinet has increased the representation of some states, and has made ministers keeping in mind the political equations of some states. In such a situation, it remains to be seen how effective this move of the Modi Government 3. O remains?
Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 71 ministers have been appointed to the Union Cabinet, out of which 60 ministers are from the BJP quota and 11 ministers are from the quota of allies. Assembly elections are to be held in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir this year. While there is a BJP government in Haryana, there is an NDA coalition government in Maharashtra. Assembly elections are to be held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir after the removal of Article 370, where BJP's political litmus test will be. After this, assembly elections are to be held in Delhi early next year and finally, there are Bihar assembly elections.
After the Lok Sabha elections, it is now the turn of the Assembly elections. BJP has made 3 ministers from Haryana, 4 from Maharashtra, 2 from Jharkhand, 1 each from Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi from its quota in the electoral states. Four ministers from Bihar have been made from BJP's quota. Apart from this, PM Modi has also made ministers from the quota of the alliance parties of the states where BJP has alliance partners. Due to this, eight ministers from Bihar have been made in the Modi government, which is an increase after ten years. Even though 6 ministers have been made from Maharashtra, full care has been taken of the political equation.
Formula to score a hat-trick of power in Haryana
The term of the current government of Haryana is ending in November this year. In such a situation, assembly elections are to be held in Haryana before November. BJP has been in power in the state continuously since 2014, but this time it is facing an anti-incumbency wave. BJP changed the leadership in Haryana before the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar with Naib Singh Saini as the Chief Minister. Despite this, the BJP has lost five out of 10 seats in the state while Congress managed to win five seats. BJP's alliance with JJP has broken.
PM Modi has appointed three ministers from Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar has been made a cabinet minister, Rao Indrajit Singh has been given independent charge and Krishan Pal Gurjar has been made a minister of state. BJP has appointed three ministers keeping in mind the political equation of Haryana, in which one is Punjabi and two are from the OBC community. Rao Indrajit comes from the Yadav community while Krishan Pal is from the Gurjar caste. One thing is clear from this the BJP has planned to enter the electoral fray in Haryana with the help of non-Jatav politics. Will the BJP be able to win the battle of Haryana with the help of the Punjab-Gurjar-Yadav equation?
BJP reduced ministers in Maharashtra and made equations
Maharashtra is an important state in which BJP has suffered the biggest setback in the 2024 elections. In the last two terms of the Modi government, 8 ministers each were made from Maharashtra quota, but this time due to fewer seats, the number of ministerial posts has also reduced. The Modi government has made six ministers from the state, out of which four are from the BJP quota and two are from the alliance party. NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) from Maharashtra is a part of the NDA, but no minister from NCP has taken oath. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has included Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, Piyush Goyal from Mumbai, Ramdas Athawale, Raksha Khadse from North Maharashtra, Muralidhar Mohol from West Maharashtra and Pratap Rao Jadhav of Shinde Sena, who won from Buldhana in Vidarbha, in his cabinet.
After the setback in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, regional and caste balance has been considered while including people in the cabinet. Modi Government 3. O's cabinet includes OBC, Maratha, Dalit, and Brahmin faces in the form of Gadkari. Political pundits are also surprised as no one from Marathwada and Konkan got a ministerial position. Before including people in the cabinet, the profit and loss in the upcoming assembly elections was analyzed and on that basis, the faces were selected for the minister. BJP could not get the political benefit of Ajit Pawar's arrival. Similarly, Shinde took political advantage of the BJP in 2024 by taking charge of power, but the BJP did not get it.
Social engineering with the help of alliance in Bihar
Assembly elections are to be held in Bihar next year. Modi government has appointed eight ministers from Bihar, out of which four are from BJP quota and two from JDU. Apart from this, LJP chief Chirag Paswan and Hindustan Awam Morcha MP Jitan Ram Manjhi have been made cabinet ministers. BJP has appointed two ministers from the Bhumihar community and one from the Brahmin community. Lalan Singh from the Bhumihar community has become cabinet minister from JDU quota, while Giriraj Singh of BJP has been given a cabinet post once again. Nityanand Rai (Yadav) from the OBC community and Raj Bhushan Chaudhary from the Mallah community have been made ministers. Ramnath Thakur, who comes from the barber community, has become minister of JDU quota.
In the Modi cabinet, the eight leaders from Bihar who have been made ministers, have an equal share of upper caste, Dalit, and backward castes. Three ministers have been made from other backward classes, in which one is from OBC and two are from backward castes. Two ministers have been made from Dalit society, in which both Dalits and Mahadalits of the state have been included. Upper caste voters in Bihar are considered to be the core vote bank of the BJP, given that two ministers are being made from the Bhumihar community and one from the Brahmin community in the Modi government. However, the Rajput, Kushwaha, and Kurmi communities have not got representation in the Modi cabinet.
BJP is on its own in Delhi and Jharkhand
Assembly elections are also due in Delhi and the BJP has been successful in winning all the seven seats of the state for the third time in a row. In such a situation, Harsh Mehrotra, who became MP from the East Delhi seat, has got a place in the Modi cabinet. He comes from the Punjabi community and by giving him a place in the Modi cabinet, BJP has made an effort to balance the political equation of Delhi. Similarly, Annapurna Devi from Jharkhand has been made a cabinet minister and Sanjay Seth has been included as a minister of state. By giving Annapurna and Sanjay Seth a place in the Union Cabinet, an attempt has been made to manage the OBC population in the state.
Talking about Jharkhand, here too 55 percent of the population is OBC and this community is a must in the agenda of all the parties. Annapurna Devi comes from the Yadav community while Sanjay Seth is a Vaishya. The population of Yadavs in Jharkhand is 14 percent while the population of Vaishyas is 40 percent. Assembly elections are to be held in Jharkhand after six months. Keeping this in mind, this strategy will be effective.