Amit Shah emerges as de facto deputy PM after Cabinet committee reshuffle

Of the 8 Cabinet committees — up from 6 in the previous govt — PM Narendra Modi will head six, while two will come under Amit Shah.

PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah at the release of the manifesto in New Delhi | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has reconstituted six Cabinet committees and set up two new ones, on investment and employment, with debutant Union minister Amit Shah emerging as the second most powerful minister after the Prime Minister.

The total number of Cabinet committees, which act as the final decision-makers on important political, economic and security matters, has now reached eight — while six of these panels will be headed by PM Narendra Modi, the remaining two will be led by Home Minister Amit Shah.

The six panels to be overseen by Modi deal with appointments, economic affairs, political affairs, security, investment and growth, and employment and skill development.

Shah, meanwhile, has been tasked with leading the Cabinet committees on accommodation and parliamentary affairs, both of which were overseen by his predecessor in the Home Ministry, Rajnath Singh, in the first Modi government. Shah is also part of the remaining six committees.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is a member of seven committees, including those on security, political affairs, economic affairs, and parliamentary affairs.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is part of four committees — economic affairs, political affairs, investment & growth, and accommodation — while his Railways counterpart Piyush Goyal is a member of five.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, another debutant in the new administration, is part of two committees — security and economic affairs.

Rajnath Singh’s diminishing clout

In leading two committees, Amit Shah has taken a role held by Rajnath Singh in the previous Modi government.

Defence Minister Singh, who was the second minister to be sworn in after Modi on 23 May, is technically the most senior Cabinet member after the PM. In the reconstituted Cabinet committees, however, Singh is part of just two — economic affairs and security — and leads none.

In Modi’s first term, Singh used to be in charge when the Prime Minister was travelling outside India. He headed the Cabinet committees on accommodation and parliamentary affairs and was part of the remaining four.

Three allies are also part of cabinet committee

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been inducted into two Cabinet committees — on economic affairs and political affairs — while Shiv Sena leader and Heavy Industries Minister Arvind Ganpat Sawant joins the Cabinet committee on political affairs. Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has been inducted into two committees: Parliamentary affairs and political affairs.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, another debutant minister, is also part of two committees — parliamentary affairs and political affairs.

This report has been updated to reflect that three, not two, allies have been inducted into the Cabinet committees, and to correct an error in the name of committees that have Rajnath Singh as member.