New Delhi:
The UPA today inducted in 22 ministers, 10 of who are first-timers, and is being seen as Team 2014. The Prime Minister, after the ceremony, told NDTV that this was "hopefully the last reshuffle" before the 2014 general election. (
In pictures: The new cabinet)
The cabinet reshuffle is also being projected as a recalibration by the government which has been mired in corruption scandals and criticism of inertia in policy-making.
(Read: PM reallocates portfolios)
By introducing young ministers in the cabinet, the government will reward those loyal to leader Rahul Gandhi and signal that this is a government ready to battle for return to power in the next general election. The reshuffle is being seen as having the stamp of Mr Gandhi all over it, who stood next to his mother and the Prime Minister for the national anthem at Rashtrapati Bhavan before the swearing in.
Though there was speculation that he might join government himself in this reshuffle, Congress sources have said that Mr Gandhi is most likely to get a "bigger role" in the party in an internal reorganisation planned soon. (
Read: A reshuffle in the Congress too with 'bigger role' for Rahul Gandhi?)
The PM, after the swearing-in ceremony, told reporters, "This is the last reshuffle before the general elections." He also said that it was disappointing that Mr Gandhi didn't join government. (
Read: Disappointed Rahul hasn't joined govt, says PM)
After today's reshuffle, Salman Khurshid, aged 59, will replace 80-year-old SM Krishna, who was External Affairs Minister till Friday. Mr Khurshid was the Law Minister and his shift comes amid charges of financial malpractice by his NGO in Uttar Pradesh. By giving him one of the four crucial portfolios (Finance, External Affairs, Home, Defence), his party is defying both the BJP and anti-corruption activists who are gunning for him. (
Read: In Salman Khurshid's big promotion, Congress signals it's the boss)
The other significant change is Law Minister Veerappa Moily moving to the petroleum ministry in the midst of an on-going conflict between Reliance and the ministry over revising the cost of gas that the corporate giant is extracting from the Krishna-Godavari basin. The ministry was with Jaipal Reddy, who is now going to the education ministry, which Kapil Sibal is losing. Shashi Tharoor makes a comeback as junior minister in HRD. Mr Tharoor was forced to resign after allegations of a conflict of interest in his backing of an IPL cricket team linked to his wife, Sunanda Pushkar.
Tariq Anwar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) replaced his party's Agatha Sangma, who at 38, was ironically the youngest member of the cabinet. Mr Anwar will get minister of state in his party chief Sharad Pawar's ministry of agriculture.
Pawan Kumar Bansal will get Railways but lose Parliamentary Affairs to Kamal Nath, who will keep Urban Development.
The new faces in government will include first-timers Manish Tewari, who moves from spokesperson of the Congress to Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting; Deepa Dasmunshi from West Bengal who is junior minister for Urban Development and Hashim Khan Choudhury, also from Bengal, were sworn-in.
Within the government, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and RPN Singh will be assigned new roles. Mr Scindia has been given independent charge of Power, Mr Pilot will have independent charge of Corporate Affairs and Mr Singh moves as Minister of State for Home. None of them have been given cabinet rank, as was being speculated. All them are second generation Congress leaders.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken has also moved up the ladder to a full cabinet minister's rank. This is an attempt by the Congress to balance power in Delhi, where Mr Maken is perceived to be competing for power and turf with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Mrs Dikshit's son Sandeep was recently elevated to national spokesperson for the Congress.
The reshuffle, like always, has kept regional representation - state politics in other words - in mind. Telugu superstar and politician Chiranjeevi has been rewarded with the Tourism Ministry for merging his Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) with the Congress. That acquisition has allowed the fragile Congress government a stronger footing in the key state of Andhra Pradesh. D Purandeswari, also from Andhra Pradesh and was minister of state in the HRD ministry, has been moved to the Commerce ministry. She continues to remain a junior minister.
Uttarakhand veteran Harish Rawat has also been inducted into the government - his compensation for not being made chief minister when Congress won the state earlier this year.
West Bengal, where the Congress' battle with Mamata Banerjee has escalated after her walk-out from the government, will see three cabinet positions. Mrs Dasmunshi is also Ms Banerjee's main rival in the state. Mr Khan Choudhury is related to the late veteran ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury. The state, with a considerable Muslim vote, goes to local polls next year. But there might be some discomfort with the fact that there is no full cabinet minister from the state.
Dinsha Patel from Gujarat, which goes to elections in December, has been promoted to the cabinet rank. Chandrashwari Katoch, who is from Rajasthan which will witness elections next year, has also been inducted as a first-timer.