Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj:Will be missed by Narendra Modi 2.0 Govt

Narendra Modi returns to the office of the Prime Minister with a bang. A larger majority will see a stronger Narendra Modi government-II in the Lok Sabha and a weaker and disoriented opposition.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t have the luxury of his confidant, Arun Jaitley, and Sushma Swaraj, the quintessential amma for all abroad Indians. In the top four cabinet berths, PM Modi will miss their presence.

For his first tenure, Arun Jaitley was the go-to-man of PM Modi. The two had chemistry since the chief minister of Gujarat was Narendra Modi’s days. Jaitley was one of the first group of central BJP leaders to predict Narendra Modi’s leadership role.

He was instrumental in getting Narendra Modi designated as the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP in 2014 Lok Sabha election that also saw the sidelining of party veterans LK Advani and MM Joshi.

With Jaitley in the first Modi government, the power equation of the Union cabinet also changed. Earlier, the Union home minister was considered the No. 2 but in the past five years, the finance minister with Jaitley in office emerged as the second most powerful person in the cabinet.

Another key area for the Modi government-I was foreign affairs. During his first tenure, the prime minister visited more than 90 countries and devoted a lot of energy to building Brand India to attract investment and foster the diplomatic muscle of India. The most important cog in the wheel was proven by Sushma Swaraj.

Swaraj prepared the ground for every significant bilateral and multilateral talk that PM Modi held over the past five years. By Modi’s own admission, it was Swaraj who prevailed over the prime minister at his first UN address in 2014. PM Modi wanted to deliver an impromptu speech but Swaraj insisted on and prevailed in having him read out a written speech so that the message was not lost on the international community.

Many political observers viewed Swaraj as a challenger to Modi in the initial months of the government. But the outgoing external affairs minister adjusted to the role she was assigned and gave the ministry a human face for the first time. She was the troubleshooter for any Indian stuck anywhere abroad.

Both Jaitley and Swaraj will be missed in PM Modi’s new cabinet.