Looking prime ministerial

The notable feature of the additions to the Union cabinet is that they come in a swift, decisive move. This helps Atal Behari Vajpayee look prime ministerial again. That is something he is badly in need of after the series of setbacks he has suffered. It has long been necessary to reduce the Prime Minister’s own workload and to fill vacancies in the cabinet. So it was right just to go ahead and induct three senior BJP leaders who have his confidence instead of letting himself be paralysed by the conflicting demands of his allies as also differences within his own party. Those problems will have to be tackled one by one. But they are no excuse for delaying appointments that can be made right now and are long overdue. Clearly, Vajpayee realises after the assembly election debacle that the sooner his government shows it is getting down to work the better. More such decisiveness will do good. Vajpayee needs to show he is in charge and does not intend to be stymied by never-ending complaints within his party andalliance.

In many ways Jaswant Singh is a natural at external affairs having contributed over the years to the BJP’s own thinking on the subject. Over the last eight months he has played a key role in formulating government policy. With him at the helm, one can expect more coherence and more finesse in the conduct of foreign relations. His closeness to the prime minister and their shared values can only enhance his ability to do his job well. Meanwhile, Vajpayee and the new national security adviser, Brajesh Mishra, will be free to concentrate on their main responsibilites. All these considerations far outweigh factors (such as Singh losing his Chittorgarh seat) which allegedly led members of the Sangh Parivar to block his advancement. One question that arises is whether Singh’s crucial talks with the US deputy secretary of state, Strobe Talbott, will carry on as before, be upgraded or involve another team. Vajpayee should also waste no time in finding a new deputy chairperson for the Planning Commissionand new heads for the telecom and information technology committees. Foreign affairs and rebuilding the domestic consensus which has traditionally underwritten a successful foreign policy are going to absorb all Singh’s time and energies.

Party stalwart Jagmohan is a less controversial figure today than political adviser Pramod Mahajan. No doubt Vajpayee has chosen them for particular skills which he believes will be useful in running the government. At a later stage he may have to take others aboard to balance factions within the BJP, to carry out his written promise to Sahib Singh Verma and, perhaps, to acknowledge Sushma Swaraj’s dutiful response to high command orders. These imperatives and the urgency of accommodating Jayalalitha, the Samata Party and other restive allies point to a continuously expanding Union cabinet. The exercise will be rife with controversy. Having asserted his prerogative to choose his own team, Vajpayee should be equally firm about how he is going to fill the rest of the berths.Others can propose; he should be the one to decide.