#ModiInChina: Does PM’s choice of CMs reveal a bias?

Two chief ministers – Devendra Fadnavis of Maharashtra and Anandiben Patel of Gujarat – are accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his China visit that is currently underway. Fair enough.

When we take a closer look, we find that both the CMs are from BJP-ruled states, both the states are relatively developed and both are from the western part of the country. As we all know, Modi was in fact the CM of Gujarat till almost a year ago before ascending to the PM’s post on May 26, 2014.

One could ask – why did the PM choose only these two CMs to accompany him on this crucial visit? Is he being partial to the BJP-ruled states, to the relatively developed states, to the states on the western coast of India or to his home states? “Home states” because Gujarat was a part of Maharashtra until some years ago.

This particular choice of the CMs of these two states becomes all the more glaring because on several occasions the PM has advocated the development of the eastern states at par with their western counterparts. He has pointed it out repeatedly in his public meetings before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and he has made it a moot point even after coming to power.

“Brothers and sisters, if you look at the western part of India, there is some development, but the eastern part cries out for attention! How can Mother India be strong when one of its arms is weak? We must focus our attention on eastern UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and the Northeast. We must ensure development for these areas. Brothers and sisters, I intend to see development in these areas and BJP will strive forward with this dream,” Modi had said on February 7, 2014 at a public meeting in Kolkata.

It has been learnt that Modi had invited Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah for the China trip, but the latter refused saying the invite came in too late and that he was too preoccupied with the local Panchayat elections to escort the PM all the way to Beijing and Shanghai.

Fadnavis seems to have emerged as Modi’s favourite since he is accompanying the PM on a foreign tour for the second time. The Maharashtra CM had escorted the PM in April this year to Germany and attended the Hannover Trade Fair.

In view of Modi’s avowed stand on consolidating a “Team India” and promoting “cooperative federalism”, one may ask would it not have been prudent had he mixed and matched the CMs accompanying him? Rising above political considerations, while one CM could have been either Patel or Fadnavis, the other could have been from a non-BJP-ruled, relatively less developed state from eastern India.

Presence of Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, Tarun Gogoi or Akhilesh Yadav in PM Modi’s entourage would have set a commendable precedent. It would also have been viewed as statesmanlike. Whatever his constraints or preferences might have been, let’s hope that in future, Modi gets better at balancing his teams on his much hyped trips abroad.