Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met economist Ashok Lahiri, currently a BJP MLA from Balurghat in Bengal, a day after he was appointed vice-chairman of NITI Aayog.
According to a notification issued by the Center on Friday, Lahiri, former chief economic advisor of India, has been appointed as vice-chairman of the government think tank along with a new set of full-time members: Rajeev Gauba, KV Raju, Gobardhan Das, Dr M Srinivas and Abhay Karandekar.
His appointment – along with Das – comes at a time when the BJP is locked in a battle with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal.
Lahiri, a member of the 15th Finance Commission who has held positions in global financial institutions, is one of the most popular Bengali leaders in the BJP. A graduate of Delhi School of Economics and Presidency University, Lahiri has also worked with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
During the meeting, Modi emphasized the central role of NITI Aayog in driving reform, innovation and cooperative federalism, government officials said.
Lahiri’s meeting with Prime Minister Modi was seen as an administrative reset and a political signal, with the BJP projecting a prominent Bengali face as the West Bengal Assembly elections approach the second phase. Lahiri is not contesting the ongoing Assembly elections in the state.
The officials, who requested anonymity, described Lahiri’s appointment as a move aimed at “strengthening policy design” and “implementation through field experience.”
The outgoing Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog is Suman Berry. Perry, a political economist and research director, assumed leadership of NITI Aayog in May 2022. At the time of his appointment, he was a global fellow in the Asia Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington; He is a non-resident fellow at the Bruegel Foundation for Economic Policy Research in Brussels. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, New Delhi.
