How PM Modi can Plug the Gaping Holes in his Cabinet During Upcoming Reshuffle

The next cabinet reshuffle of the Modi government is likely to happen before September 5.

This could well be the last reshuffle before the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Significantly, some assembly elections are due over the next six months.

With more regional parties joining the NDA fold, it wouldn’t be an easy task for the Modi-Amit Shah duo to satisfy all the new entrants.

Perhaps, the government needs to seek more time from President Ram Nath Kovind to set its house in order ahead of the key Cabinet reshuffle.

Here’s why:

WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION AT A NEGLIGIBLE 12.32%

Currently, there are only nine women representatives in the 73-member Union Cabinet. Of the nine, Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti, Smriti Irani, Harsimrat Kaur and Maneka Gandhi are the only Cabinet ministers.

A CLUB FOR SENIOR CITIZENS ?

The current average age of the cabinet stands at 59.26. This can be improved with the introduction of some young members.

The average age of Cabinet members stands at 62.84.

At present Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal at 36 is the youngest minister and Kalraj Mishra at 76 is the oldest. PM Modi himself is 66.

BETTER REPRESENTATION TO STATES

In the present tally, Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 13, including PM Modi. Following UP, Bihar has the second highest number of ministers in the council of ministers at 9. With JD (U) joining the cabinet, the number of ministers from Bihar will further go up.

Both Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have 7 ministers each. Gujarat has six ministers. Number of ministers from north-east India may go up with an eye on some assembly polls from the region.

Himachal Pradesh, where elections are due end of the year, could get more ministers as the hill state has a lone representation in the Cabinet

State-wise tally of ministers

UP - 13

Gujarat - 6

Bihar - 9

Maharashtra - 7

Madhya Pradesh -7

Karnataka - 4

Rajasthan – 4

Andhra Pradesh - 3

Jharkhand - 3

Haryana - 3

Arunachal Pradesh -1

Punjab – 2

West Bengal – 2

Assam -1

Delhi – 1

Goa – 1

HP 1

Jammu- 1

Odisha- 1

Telangana – 1

Tamil Nadu -1

Uttarakhand – 1