BJP chief Amit Shah joins Modi Cabinet for first time

New Delhi: Putting all speculation to rest, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah joined the Narendra Modi-led Union Council of Ministers that took the oath of office on Thursday evening. This is the first time that Mr Shah will be in the Modi government at the Centre and the move is being viewed as a show of confidence in the leadership abilities of the BJP chief by the Prime Minister. The elevation of Mr Shah to the Cabinet is also being seen as an attempt by the Prime Minister to groom his protege in the intricacies of Central government administration.   

Mr Shah has been Prime Minister Modi’s close confidant for over two decades and has earlier served as the home minister in Gujarat when Mr Modi was the chief minister. During his tenure, Amit Shah has led the party successfully with its spectacular run in elections, during which duration the party secured important states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana, while also storming back to power at the Centre with even greater numbers than 2014. In fact, Mr Shah has often been termed as the master strategist of the party.

The rise of Shah is often projected as the strength of the party’s democratic roots as he began as a booth level worker and does not have any family background in politics. Party sources stated that Mr Shah’s induction to the Union Cabinet was also necessitated due to the bowing out of former finance minister Arun Jaitley, who has sought exemption due to ill health and the death of former defence minister Manohar Parikkar.

The two senior ministers were close confidants of the Prime Minister and Mr Shah is expected to fill the void left behind in the government due to their absence.

With his induction, Prime Minister Modi is all set to raise the bar to further enhance the productivity and efficiency of his council of ministers as Shah’s tenure as the parry chief has established his image of being a workaholick and a tough taskmaster.  

A confirmation on the inclusion of Shah in the Union government came through a tweet by Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani, who put out a message congratulating the 55-year-old leader. Vaghani’s tweet ended the speculation over Shah joining the government.  “Had a courtesy meeting with our mentor Amit Shah and gave my best wishes to him on his inclusion as a strong member of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers,” he tweeted.