Modi opts for smallest Cabinet in recent times

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a leaner Cabinet with the top portfolios going to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

His right-hand man, Mr Arun Jaitley, and party stalwarts Mr Rajnath Singh and Ms Sushma Swaraj, topped a list of 45 ministers who were sworn into the new Cabinet yesterday.

The new team is the smallest in recent times. The previous Cabinet in the Congress government, for instance, had over 70 ministers.

Mr Jaitley, a 61-year-old corporate lawyer, surprised many with his twin appointments to the heavyweight Finance and Defence portfolios.

The former commerce minister now faces the formidable task of returning India to rapid economic growth even as he sorts out delays in purchases of weaponry in the defence ministry.

Mr Singh, the 62-year-old president of BJP, was made Home Minister and would be the second in command in the government.

Ms Swaraj, 62, who is known as a fiery orator, will be India's top diplomat after being appointed the new Minister for External Affairs.

She will have a busy first day at work, as Mr Modi is set to meet key South Asian leaders, including Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, today.

Mr Modi came to power with the biggest winning margin in 30 years.

His decisive mandate means the new government is less likely to be bogged down by demands from regional allies, which in the past has resulted in bloated Cabinets.

Still, BJP's allies had been jostling for berths in the new government. Mr Modi gave five seats to each of the allies, including Cabinet berths to Mr Ramvilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, Mr Anant Geete of the Shiv Sena Party and Mr Ashok Gajapathi Raju of the Telugu Desam Party.

Mr Modi's broader ministerial team, which includes 23 Cabinet ministers and 22 junior ministers, is a mix of old and new faces.

They hail from different parts of the country, including from the Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which helped propel the BJP to its stunning victory.

A surprise inclusion in the Cabinet is 38-year-old Smriti Irani, a former television actress who contested and lost to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in his family stronghold of Amethi.

She is among seven women who are in the Cabinet, including 74-year-old Najma Heptullah, who is among the oldest ministers to be sworn in yesterday evening.

Mr Modi and his team have kept their Cabinet selection under tight wraps.

Even those who were chosen were reportedly told only yesterday morning, and then invited to tea with Mr Modi.

"I got a call in the morning. I did not know before that," insisted Mr Prakash Javadekar, the new Information and Broadcasting Minister.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Modi said he would have a lean leadership team that aimed for "minimum government and maximum governance".

The new premier also promised to change the "work culture and style of governance" - a move appreciated by industry groups which have high expectations of the new government.

Top leaders in the new Bharatiya Janata Party government

ARUN JAITLEY, 61, FINANCE AND DEFENCE MINISTER

A former commerce minister, Mr Arun Jaitley is a confidant of new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and one of the brains behind his highly successful election campaign.

In a glimpse of the kind of clout he enjoys, Mr Jaitley is getting two top ministerial berths despite failing to win a parliamentary seat in the northern city of Amritsar.

Many see him as the face of the BJP, but the top lawyer is also known in the party as a top troubleshooter and strategist.

RAJNATH SINGH, 62, HOME MINISTER

The former physics teacher is a seasoned politician who played a key role in the elevation of Mr Modi in the face of dissent from within the party.

Like Mr Modi, Mr Rajnath Singh, too, started out in the Hindu nationalist group, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological backbone of the BJP.

A former agriculture minister, Mr Singh is known for his administrative skills, and has served as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

SUSHMA SWARAJ, 62, MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

An articulate politician known for her fiery speeches, Ms Sushma Swaraj is one of the BJP's most recognisable faces.

She made it to the top in a party dominated by men, and was a successful opposition leader in the Lower House.

She became a minister at 25 in the state government of northern Haryana, and was India's health minister between 2000 and 2004, when the BJP was in government. She was picked for Cabinet despite being among those in the party who were openly uncomfortable with the rise of Mr Modi.

NITIN GADKARI 56, TRANSPORT MINISTER

Mr Nitin Gadkari was made the BJP president after the party suffered a defeat in the 2009 general election, and was successful in uniting the warring factions within the party.

But his term as the party's president was not renewed after charges of financial irregularities in a company he founded were made against him.

An affable politician, Mr Gadkari is known for his penchant for initiating infrastructure projects like the building of roads and flyovers.

gnirmala@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 27, 2014.
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