A reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers appears certain, with indications that the exercise could take place “any time now”, before the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Monday returned from a three-day tour to Seychelles, is likely to travel to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand between July 6 and 11. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is also scheduled to visit New Delhi from July 1 to 3 for her first official visit to India for the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit.
The timing of the reshuffle is expected to depend on PM Modi’s schedule, sources said. “The framework for the Cabinet reshuffle and the new team of BJP president Nitin Nabin is ready, and that the Prime Minister is expected to finalise it before his next foreign visit,” they added
According to those familiar with the deliberations, the ministerial reshuffle is likely to coincide with the announcement of a new BJP organisational team under Nabin. The new BJP team is expected to feature several younger faces in key organisational positions. And if the party adheres to its “one person, one post” principle, several changes can be expected in both organisation and the government.
Nitin Nabin recently held consultations with some Union Ministers of State, fuelling speculation that some ministers could be moved to organisational roles, while BJP office-bearers may be inducted into the Modi government.
Portfolio changes are also under consideration, sources said, adding that there is a view within the top brass that key ministries require fresh leadership.
While political considerations, including regional, caste and state representation, as well as organisational balance, are the key to any such exercise, with Assembly elections due next year in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, the BJP is likely to strengthen representation from these states in the Union Cabinet. Following the party’s strong performance in West Bengal, some MPs from the state could also be accommodated.
Members from the breakaway Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) factions, as well as a senior leader from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, are under consideration for ministerial berths. However, any such move will depend on the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision on pending disqualification petitions under the Anti-Defection Law.
The buzz over the much-anticipated Cabinet reshuffle began after Prime Minister Modi met President Droupadi Murmu.
Although the meeting was officially described as routine, it further fuelled speculation about an impending Cabinet reshuffle before the Monsoon Session. Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting with President Droupadi Murmu further intensified speculation about the much-anticipated reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers.
The meetings, held after Union Minister George Kurian’s resignation, were interpreted as a sign of major structural and portfolio changes ahead of the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament and the Assembly elections in key states, particularly Uttar Pradesh, which goes to the polls next year.