The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle of UPA–2 did finally take place after roughly 20 months of the Cabinet formation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hinted at the reshuffle during September and the long wait and uncertainty has ended. The reshuffle had probably disappointed the country at large but perhaps satisfied the incumbents as the axe had not fallen on anyone. When UPA–2 started, there were lots of expectations arising out of the fact that the Congress was in a much stronger position in the coalition and would command a higher degree of control over its allies. The Prime Minister was expected to lay stress and accent on performance. Hundred-day objectives were set and report cards were promised. After 18 months, the initial one-third of the term of this government, there is all-round disappointment with the performance and there is an all-pervasive air of corruption, governance deficit, etc. The price situation and inflation are huge areas of concern. The Cabinet reshuffle was expected to be a pointer to a will to tackle areas of concern but actually turned out to be an unkept promise.
The reshuffle was largely confined to the Congress and the allies were not touched. Only the two NCP ministers were impacted. Sharad Powar wanted to reduce the burden and had publicly requested the Prime Minister for this and this was acceded to. Praful Patel got an elevation with a portfolio change. Praful had also hinted earlier his desire to move out of civil aviation. Barring this, the rest of the exercise was restricted only to the Congress and it was certainly eminently possible that a reshuffle did reward good performance and punished poor and non-performance.
 The fact that not a single minister was dropped in an atmosphere of disappointment and dismay over the government’s track record, does not speak well of either the intent or the ability of the Congress top brass to redeem the government’s image. The fact that a record number of portfolio changes were effected only shows that the exercise was more cosmetic than of substance. It was only a game of musical chairs. The Prime Minister himself said this was a minor reshuffle and a major one could be expected after the Budget session. If a major one could be carried out during the next few months, one wonders why that could not be done now. What was holding the Prime Minister from doing what he thought was necessary? Three ministers were elevated, perhaps deserving the elevation. Three ministers were inducted. But the Prime Minister’s promise of infusing new blood into the Cabinet was conspicuously unrealised. Perhaps, this is reserved for the bigger occasion.
Several ministers in the economic and infrastructure areas swapped positions. Murli Deora moves out of Petroleum, after a record number and magnitude of fuel price increases. Kamal Nath moves out of Surface Transport after failing on his promise of 20 km a day. Vilasrao Deshmukh is replaced in Heavy Industries by Praful Patel. Vayalar Ravi takes additional charge of Civil Aviation hitherto held by Praful Patel. C P Joshi gets Surface Transport in place of Rural Development which goes to Vilasrao Deshmukh. Virbhadra Singh also loses his key portfolio and instead gets micro, small and medium industries. Jaipal Reddy gets Petroleum after vacating Urban Development which is taken over by Kamal Nath. M S Gill loses Sports and gets Statistics.
Will this reallocation of portfolios buoy up the Indian economy, bring down inflation, improve infrastructure? If somebody was a non-performer in one department, how does he become “performing” in the other portfolio? There are those charitable ones who say that the Prime Minister has put many of the ministers on notice and if they do not perform, the next big shuffle would see them out. This looks to be a wish, at best.
 The much publicised Commonwealth Games scam had seen the Urban Development Minister and the Sports Minister change places. If one would look at moving M S Gill as a punishment, the same may not be said of Jaipal Reddy. Petroleum cannot be deemed to be a punishment. There does not seem to be a pattern in the reshuffle on yardsticks of performance.
Kapil Sibal seems to be the man for all seasons. The HRD Minister has also retained the Telecom portfolio. He may be around there till the stables are cleaned up in the department paralysed by the biggest scam of all times. The four top ministers of Home, Finance, Defence and External Affairs have not been disturbed. Which shows that the higher echelons of the Cabinet have remained unaffected by this Cabinet shuffle. The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle has come and gone without a whimper, without any sound or fury. The Prime Minister has hinted that there is lightning and thunder in the air. Come May, post-Assembly elections in five states and the Budget session, whether the rains would come in heavy downpour with or without winds or whether it will only drizzle is anybody’s guess at this stage. Our predominantly agriculture-oriented nation would look forward to a beneficial monsoon to start on the first of June.
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