Of Cabinet reshuffles & popularity contests

When Manohar Parrikar and Suresh Prabhu were given ministerial berths in the Modi government, there were great expectations from them. Given their educational qualifications — Mr Parrikar is an IIT graduate and Mr Prabhu  a chartered accountant — they were given the key ministries of defence and railways in the hope they would deliver on governance. But both failed to live up to expectations. While Mr Prabhu was unable to get a grip on his ministry, Mr Parrikar could not shake off his provincial moorings. The result is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is forced to look for their replacements, which is not an easy task given the talent deficit in the Council of Ministers.

According to the Delhi grapevine, a Cabinet reshuffle should take place before Mr Modi leaves for the Brics summit on September 3. As a result, many ministers have gone into wait-and-watch mode, some are trying to hang on while those outside are lobbying to get in. At least one member of the Union Cabinet — rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who was given additional charge of the urban development ministry after M. Venkaiah Naidu’s resignation — has taken a pragmatic view in the matter.

Probably realising that urban development is a temporary charge, he has evinced little interest in the ministry. Last week his nameplate was being removed from outside his office. Workers said they were doing so following instructions from the “top” as the minister was not sure if he would retain this portfolio.

Soon after the five-member bench of the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the validity of triple talaq last week, mediapersons received a message that Congress leader and leading lawyer Kapil Sibal will respond to the verdict that afternoon. Besides Mr Sibal’s office, the message was also put out by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which had opposed the ban on the ground that the State had no right to interfere in matters of faith.

Since Mr Sibal had represented the AIMPLB in court, its officebearers were keen that his response be given wide publicity. But Mr Sibal surprised everyone when he welcomed  the judgment, stating that instant triple talaq is “sinful” and a dying practice and must be deprecated. Though the AIMPLB members have not said anything publicly, they were grumbling privately that as their lawyer, they had expected Mr Sibal to speak on their behalf. But Mr Sibal, they said, spoke more like a Congress leader as his reaction was in line with that of the party.   

Besides wives and sons, it is not unusual for daughters-in-law of senior political leaders to plunge into politics. Some well-known bahus, who were encouraged to pursue a career in politics, include Sheila Dikshit, Mohsina Kidwai and Margaret Alva. Their numbers have swelled over the years as dynastic politics has increasingly become the norm instead of an exception.

For instance, in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls earlier this year, both the daughters-in-law of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav were centrestage. Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple Yadav, who is also a Lok Sabha MP, was a key campaigner while Akhilesh’s sister-in-law Aparna Yadav, who was a first-time candidate, was  also visible and vocal during the election. Now there is a new bahu on the block. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi’s daughter-in-law Richa, who had managed his campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, has emerged as a leader in her own right. She has been touring the state and hitting out at the Raman Singh government, especially on the issue of increasing atrocities against tribal women. Mr Jogi’s wife Renu and son Amit are already in politics. Richa is the latest entrant.

The BJP and the Congress may be on opposite sides of the political divide, but they have one thing in common: both want to see Delhi CM and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal rendered politically irrelevant. The BJP felt it had attained success in this mission when it swept the recent municipal elections in Delhi, while the Congress was equally upbeat when Mr Kejriwal’s party came a poor second in the Punjab Assembly elections. While both parties are convinced that Mr Kejriwal has been effectively marginalised, an Independence Day programme of a Delhi school recently proved to be an eye-opener for a Congress leader who was present at the show. As part of the programme, children had come dressed as leading leaders — Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajiv Gandhi, Mr Modi and Mr Kejriwal. While “Modi” expectedly got a big round of applause, it was “Kejriwal” who was greeted with the loudest cheers and claps. Needless to say, the Congress leader was dumbfounded.