Farmers Movement Archive

NDA’s Cabinet has no non-BJP minister now

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is India’s largest political grouping on paper, but with the demise of Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday and the Shiromani Akali Dal’s exit from it last month, all berths in the Union Cabinet are occupied by the Bharatiya Janata Party. There is only one non-BJP minister in the entire 51-member strong union council of ministers: Republican Part of India (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawle (the minister of state for social justice and empowerment).This is the first time since 1977 that a coalition government at the Centre has all Cabinet ministers from one party.The BJP-led pan-India alliance of 24 political parties gave three slots in the Cabinet to allies when it returned with a thumping majority in 2019. Anant Geete from Shiv Sena was named heavy industries minister, Akali Dal’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal was food processing minister, and Ramvilas Paswan had the consumer affairs, food and public distribution portfolio. Also read | Ram Vilas Paswan: A man who bridged political divisionsLast year, Geete resigned from the Cabinet after the Shiv Sena dumped the BJP to go with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to form the Maharashtra government. Last month, an angry Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the NDA protesting the three new farm laws. And Lok Janshakti Party patriarch Ram Vilas Paswan died after prolonged illness on Thursday.Nitish Kumar’s JD (U), which returned to the NDA fold after a brief separation in 2014, and which, with 15 MPs, is the second biggest constituent of the alliance after the BJP, decided to stay out of the Cabinet or the council of ministers after it realised that it would not get the two Cabinet posts it wanted. The BJP won 303 seats of the NDA’s 343 in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the party “has always respected its allies and their valuable contribution cannot be undermined”. “The NDA and the BJP are driven by national interest, which at times is in variance with local politics that drives the regional parties. Shiv Sena parted ways even though they contested elections with us in Maharashtra. In Bihar, we have sacrificed on many occasions and have given a lion’s share to our ally, the JD(U). We will always respect the views of our allies but not at the cost of compromising national interest,” he said.Also read | Bihar assembly election: With Ram Vilas no more, test for Chirag to consolidate LJPIn the first Narendra Modi government (2014-19), five of the BJP’s alliance partners were inducted in the council of ministers with Paswan, Geete and Badal in the Cabinet. The BJP won 282 seats of the NDA’s 336 in that election. The year 2014 was the first time a party had a majority of its own in the Lok Sabha since 1984. Rahul Verma, fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, said the composition of the Cabinet today reflects the changing nature of the NDA. “The BJP leadership believes that smaller allies have reaped the benefits of Modi’s popularity but haven’t been able to mobilise their own votes. So the BJP is sidelining them in ministerial appointments, decision-making, which then creates deeper insecurity among these smaller parties.” He also said that the Cabinet also only had a handful of mass leaders, who could be even considered pan-state or pan-community leaders. Modi’s predecessor, Dr Manmohan Singh, who was the first non-Nehru-Gandhi Prime Minister to complete two successive terms, also saw a similar loss of allies. After his first term (2004 to 2009) , Paswan and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav left the alliance due to disputes over seat distribution in Bihar for the national election. In the second term, Singh took more hits as the DMK and the Trinamool Congress quit the United Progressive Alliance. The Congress was left with Sharad Pawar’s NCP, its staunch ally, towards the end of its term. The vacancies in the Union council of ministers have triggered speculations about the first Cabinet reshuffle of second Modi government. The entry of JD(U) in the union council of ministers is overdue, and Chirag Paswan might be considered for a portfolio after his father’s demise, though there may be some hiccups because his party has not aligned with the NDA for the upcoming Bihar polls. Also read: Union minister Harsimrat Kaur resigns, BJP runs into trouble with old ally“The BJP has a transactional understanding of coalition politics; no programmatic agreement, no ideological basis, only whether the relationship is profitable or not. They think allies are needed, or join a coalition only if either has to gain something — if the BJP’s winnability is high, allies will come; and if low, they will not. Since 2014, the NDA has existed in name only,” said political commentator Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.

Hindustan Times

10-10-2020

India