UPA versus NDA: between the lines in the list

WEAKER SECTIONS, STRONGER MESSAGE:
The new cabinet has three Dalits — Mahabir Prasad, Meira Kumar and A. Raja — and two Muslims — P.M. Sayeed, Ghulam Nabi Azad. The Vajpayee cabinet had two Dalits and only one Muslim. Overall, seven of Singh’s 68 ministers are Muslim, against Vajpayee’s single showpiece, Shahnawaz Hussain.

NOT QUITE A LADIES’ MAN:
Singh has only one woman in the cabinet, Meira Kumar. Vajpayee had two, Sushma Swaraj and Mamata Banerjee. Overall, six of the 68 ministers are women.

CLOUT OF THE SOUTH:
With six ministers — P. Chidambaram, Mani Shankar Aiyar, T.R. Baalu, A. Raja, Dayanidhi Maran and A. Ramadoss — Tamil Nadu is the regional powerhouse of the cabinet. It’s been well rewarded for giving the Congress-led alliance a 39-0 sweep of the state’s Lok Sabha seats.

NO FAMILY VALUES:
The army of ‘‘sons’’ has not made it to the ministry. There’s no place for Jyotiraditya Scindia or Sachin Pilot. The only party heir(ess) to make it is Meira Kumar, daughter of the late Jagjivan Ram.

POLITICAL PUZZLES:
Two states with reason to be disappointed are Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh gave the Congress-TRS a whopping 36 seats but has only two cabinet reps, S. Jaipal Reddy and K. Chandrashekhara Rao. UP, where the Congress’s energies are focused on a comeback, has only one cabinet minister, Mahabir Prasad.