Murmurs of discontent grow, some mins unhappy

 The reshuffle generated confrontational approach in national politics. According to sources, a few ministers and MPs are not happy with the change. 

Sources said Rao Indrajeet Singh, who was the former MoS of External Affairs during the UPA-II, is at present serving as MoS Statistics and Programme Implementation Planning and Defence in the Modi government. He has reportedly expressed displeasure over his position in the party and the portfolio allotted to him. 

Singh, a Lok Sabha MP from Gurgaon who joined the BJP in 2013, represents the Ahir (Yadav) community. 

Meanwhile, Prakash Javadekar’s elevation as HRD Minister is an example of Modi’s persuasive aggressive politics, sources said. They added that his being form the RSS also worked in his favour. 

Sources said perhaps the PM was unhappy with former HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s combative style of politics. The controversies at JNU and the Hyderabad Central University, where she had shown an unapologetic attitude about the government’s approach, made her a target for the liberal intelligentsia.

Apart from the Hindutva agenda, BJP’s ‘Congress Mukta Bharat’ and Modi’s larger-than-life image has cultivated difficulties for the party to reach over small states. Eyeing the upcoming five state polls, the party’s top brass is doing it all to sweep the Assembly polls in UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab. Observers feel the reshuffle is a strategy of caste-based vote bank policy.