Ending speculation that the Council of Ministers will be packed with technocrats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose a team that is entirely of mainstream politicians.

The Prime Minister was accommodative of his senior colleagues in the party; at the same time, there was attention to regional sensitivities. As a result, the exercise had a traditional feel, belying expectations that there would be many surprises.

While LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were never expected to be a part of the team, their roles as well as that others such as Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will play remain uncertain.

Some senior ministers from the Vajpayee Cabinet did not make it. CP Thakur, who was then the health minister, was not considered by Modi.

The exclusion of BJP General Secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy, considered close to party president Rajnath Singh, and party Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was tipped for a Cabinet post, were the big surprises. Another senior leader and MP from Darjeeling, SS Ahluwalia, also did not find a place. Young BJP leaders Anurag Singh Thakur and Varun Gandhi were also denied a berth.

Former chief ministers BS Yeddyurappa of Karnataka, Shanta Kumar of Himachal Pradesh, BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank of Uttarakhand did not get a berth either. Jagadambika Pal, who served as Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister for a day, also did not make it.

Among the names doing the rounds before Cabinet formation were Arun Shourie, E Sreedharan, Deepak Parekh, KV Kamat and Rajeev Chandrashekhar. None of them has been given any post, for now.

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