Union cabinet reshuffle buzz gains ground

NEW DELHI: As the BJP is set for its national executive meeting and prepares for the upcoming polls, the possibility of a reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers this month has gained ground, with the performance of ministers and the ruling party’s political imperatives likely to drive changes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rejigged his team only once, in July 2021, in his second term, unlike his first stint, when he reshuffled and expanded his council three times. Though there has been no official word, sources said that the changes may occur anytime this month before the start of the Budget Session of Parliament on January 31. The BJP’s executive meeting is on January 16-17.

There is a view that the party’s standout win in the Gujarat assembly polls and the lessons drawn from the loss in the Himachal Pradesh assembly and the Delhi municipal elections may act as factor in ministerial changes.

With ‘360-degree view’ often the buzzword in all major exercises the party undertakes and the reshuffle likely to be the last as the Lok Sabha polls are now only 15 months away, evolving political equations in big states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Telangana will also play a role in the changes. Similarly, there is buzz that changes may also be brought in the party’s organisation.

The changes in Modi’s council of ministers have always been marked by shock exits and surprise entries, and have also hit the headlines for the changes in portfolios of incumbents.