This is a new BJP, not Atal-Advani BJP – this is a comment that we often hear from the BJP old-timers. They use this expression to decry the changing character of the BJP. They use this to say that Atal-Advani era politicians are more idealistic compared to today’s cutthroat politicians. However, after the latest reshuffle in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, the old generation is all but gone.

One look at the latest list of ministers shows that there are just about four ministers who had served in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. They are Rajnath Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Prahlad Patel and Sripad Yasso Naik. Rajath Singh was UP Chief Minister for some time and later became agriculture minister in Vajpayee cabinet. Later, he served as the BJP national president. In Modi 1.0, he was the Home Minister and in the Modi 2.0, he is holding the crucial defence ministry. Naqvi, Naik and Patel were ministers of state in Vajapayee cabinet.

The remaining ministers are all young and have become ministers at the centre for the first time. Interestingly, many of them are less than 55 years of age. A record 11 ministers in the Modi cabinet are less than 45 years of age.

The Modi 1.0 had several Vajpayee-era politicians as ministers. There were leaders like Menaka Gandhi, Suresh Prabhu, Uma Bharti, Anant Gite, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Vijay Goel in Modi 1.0. They all had served under Vajpaye. They were all dropped when Modi came to power in 2019. Then there were leaders like Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Anantakumar and Ram Vilas Paswan, who passed away. They were ministers under both the BJP PMs.

Interestingly, neither Modi nor Amit Shah were MPs when Vajpayee was the prime minister. Yes. Today’s BJP is not the BJP of Atal-Advani.