Cabinet reshuffle on cards after Assam election results

The Narendra Modi government’s long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle will depend on the Assam election results, but with a little over 24 hours to go before the verdict is out, speculation is rife in government circles that some key ministers, including health minister J.P. Nadda, MoS environment (independent charge) Prakash Javadekar and minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises Giriraj Singh could be drafted back to party work.

Sources said the reshuffle exercise will gain momentum if the BJP wins in Assam, as then the minister of state for sports (independent charge) Sarbanand Sonowal, the BJP chief ministerial candidate, will shift to Guwahati and the vacant ministerial berth will provide a valid reason for the entire process.

While there has been speculation in the recent past over the reshuffle, with the government set to complete two years in office next week, the pressure to go ahead with the exercise appears to have increased as 24 months is considered a long enough period to evaluate the ministers’ performance.

Sources also indicated that the Prime Minister’s Office is not too happy with the performance of some ministers, particularly Mr Nadda, and there is a perception that he has not been able to do much in terms of major policy decisions.

Also, the way he was sidelined on NEET, when finance minister Arun Jaitley held an all-party meeting on the controversial issue on May 16, clearly indicated his position within the government.

Similarly, the perception within the government is that Mr Javadekar has been a “soft” minister, given the fact that he handles a globally sensitive portfolio.