Know how Sushma, Rajnath and Arun Jaitley manage their equations with the PM

It is not necessary that all cabinet ministers have to gel with PM Narendra Modi. There are few ministers who had to work towards getting their equation right with the PM.

Economic Times reported how Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajanth Singh and Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj adjusted to work out their private equation with Modi.

The most important minister in Modi’s cabinet is Jaitley. Arguably, Jaitley is Modi's go-to man. People close to Jaitley told ET that he was one of the trongest backers of Modi as BJP’s PM candidate at a time when several heavyweights were against the idea.

The Finance Minister had also handled legal issues of both Modi and BJP President Amit Shah. A party leader told the financial daily that when Shah was banned from entering Gujarat by the Supreme Court, he went to Jaitley's house.

The leader added that Shah relies heavily on Jaitley. "Those working closely with Shah now in the party are all Arun Jaitley's people. Shah's assessment of people is based on Arun's assessment and Modi too goes along," a party leader told ET.

The leader also said that people close to Jaitley were given key ministries and the names were endorsed by Shah as well.

A BJP leader told the financial daily that the close relationship between Modi, Jaitley and Shah was a source of much jealousy.

"Of the trio, Jaitley is the easiest to attack since Modi can't be attacked and attacks on Shah will only start post Bihar if the party does badly," said the leader.

The leader added that Jaitley was Modi's chief troubleshooter.

One of the leaders also told ET that if performance of Modi Sarkar was to be judged largely on economy, Modi's most important minister was also the one who will be judged most ultimately.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh learnt to like Modi.

Singh is officially the number two in the Modi Cabinet and as per an official notification, he gets to chair Cabinet meetings when the PM is away.

Singh is a political heavyweight and Modi and Shah are quite careful not to mess with him. When the Home Minister publically expressed displeasure at rumours being spread about his son, allegedly by a Cabinet colleague, Modi and Shah rushed to assuage him.

After Singh’s response, those rumours stopped.

"The message was clear - Rajnath was not going to stay quiet," a BJP functionary told ET. In his first stint as BJP president, Singh shared an uneasy relationship with Modi and Jaitley.

Singh had dropped Modi from the party's central parliamentary board and Jaitley from the post of chief spokesman. However, during his second stint, Singh’s relationship with Modi improved.

Singh batted for Modi against party veterans LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj.

Economic Times reported that a senior Congress leader had also gone to Singh's house when he was the president to dissuade him from declaring Modi as the party's PM candidate. But to no avail.

"He also got dissidents to stop critiquing Modi in public during the run-up to the election," a BJP leader told ET, adding “At one point Singh got Yashwant Sinha to speak to Shatrughan Sinha to tone down the latter's remarks against Modi.”

Party leaders told ET that as smooth as Singh-Modi relations may be now, the uneasy relationship between the finance and home ministers could still become a problem for the prime minister.

"The downfall of UPA-2 started with the shadow war between Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram. Round-2 of Singh vs Jaitley, if it happens, can get troublesome for the PM," a party veteran told the financial daily.

Coming to Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, she was a Modi critic was adjusted.

“Sushma-ji's is a case of a remarkable transformation,” a BJP leader told ET. Before Modi climbed to top of the party, Swaraj was a Modi critic.

A BJP veteran said Swaraj is good with her job even if no one talks about it. Officials say Modi is even more personally involved than most recent PMs. This could have been a source of angst for Swaraj, but she has simply got on with it.

"She's shown great dignity," a BJP leader told ET. As per officials, Modi has asked the foreign minister to keep special focus on the Middle East and SAARC.

"Sushma Swaraj really knows the dos and don'ts of ministerial functioning," a senior official told ET.

(Image: Indiatimes)