Ministers on edge as PM likely to revamp Union Cabinet soon

NEW DELHI: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to go in for a Cabinet rejig on the basis of “performance”, some key Union ministers are reportedly on edge. The reshuffle could take place between January 15 and 25.

Sources said that while speaking to top party leaders, the Prime Minister had hinted that it was time to “make changes”. A senior party leader revealed that after the results of the recent polls in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Prime Minister had indicated that despite the historic victory in Gujarat, he was not too pleased with the outcome. This observation has apparently been quite “disturbing” for some of his key ministers and party office-bearers.

Though the BJP decimated the Opposition during the Gujarat Assembly elections, the results in both the Delhi MCD polls and the Himachal Assembly elections were a body blow to the party.  Some of the MPs from Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, who apparently indulged in factionalism during the polls, were moving around “somewhat worried”, a senior party leader said.

While it remains to be seen which leaders might face the axe, the proposed reshuffle would be carried out with an eye on forthcoming elections in nine states this year and the 2024 general election. The nine states that will go to the polls this year are Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It was learnt that the MPs from the poll-bound states may be accommodated in the revamped Cabinet.

While there is a buzz the PM may drop “non-performing” ministers, some MPs who have been “star campaigners” in various states also expect to be inducted into the Modi Cabinet.

Since this might possibly be the last ministerial reshuffle before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, hectic parleys have begun to get into the Modi Cabinet. At least two MPs from Gujarat are likely to be rewarded for the party’s stellar performance in the recent Assembly elections. Sources also said that the Prime Minister was also considering inducting more women into the Union Cabinet.