Speculation mounts over Modi cabinet reshuffle

Speculation about a possible reshuffle in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers has gathered pace after he met President Droupadi Murmu last week.

The reshuffle buzz intensified after Modi met President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 23 June. The speculation was fuelled further two days later, on 25 June, when Home Minister Amit Shah also called on the President.

There is no official word yet on the issue, but murmurs in political circles and the corridors of power have increasingly centred on the possibility of changes before the monsoon session of Parliament expected around the third week of July.

The deliberations said the reshuffle will be carried out in tandem with the announcement of a new BJP team under its president Nitin Nabin.

Younger faces are expected to be brought in for prominent organisational roles, the Indian media reported, citing sources.

There are strong possibilities of some federal ministers being sent to take up organisational roles in BJP and party office-bearers being inducted into the Modi ministry.

Speculation is also rife about portfolio changes for some ministers, while the future of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is under a cloud following a spate of controversies relating to matters under his ministry, especially the competitive examination question paper leak and irregularities in the school digital marking system.

The sources indicate a growing view among the government's top brass that key ministries need fresh blood. Besides, political compulsions to balance the cabinet based on regional, state, caste and loyalty factors are also at play.

More representatives from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab are likely to find a place in the Modi ministry, as fresh Assembly elections are due in these three states next year.

Following BJP's first victory in the West Bengal assembly elections, some of its MPs from the state could be inducted into the Union Ministry. There is a possibility that a few representatives of the rebel Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) groups will secure ministerial berths.

While the 20 rebel TMC MPs announced their merger with the West Bengal-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India and declared their allegiance to the ruling BJP-led NDA, the six dissident Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs have joined the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.