New Delhi: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray threw a tantrum on Sunday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi put in place a new order - and perhaps a new pecking order as well - by expanding his cabinet to achieve four broad objectives: blend the old with the new to create a pool of talent; strike a caste balance that spells social inclusiveness; extend the party's geographic reach, particularly in poll-bound states like Bihar and West Bengal where it will battle regional and region based forces; and correct the lopsidedness in ensuring minimum government with maximum governance.
But the dominant message emanating from the induction of four new cabinet ministers, three ministers of state with independent charge and 14 Ministers of State - most of whom come stamped with the RSS ideology - is that the government at the Centre is of Modi, by Modi and for Modi, and anyone in the team or outside who thinks otherwise would do it at his or own risk as Thackeray learned on Sunday.
Alliance trouble
But much like it has happened for the last 25 years, the pressure of allies cast a shadow on the proceedings, when an angry Thackeray withdrew his ministerial nominee Anil Desai as he was reportedly being sworn in not as a cabinet minister but as a Minister of State. What fuelled his anger further was despite his opposition, Modi inducted Suresh Prabhu as a cabinet minister. Prabhu will now be a BJP man.
Not surprisingly, the immediate questions thrown up by the cabinet expansion was not about who's who in the team or their merits and strengths, but about BJP-Sena relations which have been hurtling downhill in recent weeks both at the Centre, where it presently has a minister in Anant Geete, and in Maharashtra where they contested the elections separately. And if it decides not to join the Devendra Fadanavis government it would become the official opposition - a post which a badly mauled Congress has been eyeing.
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