There are strong possibilities of some Union ministers being sent to take organisational roles in the BJP and party office-bearers being inducted into the Modi ministry.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Harsh Malhotra as the president of its Delhi unit, sparking speculation about an imminent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers. This move follows the BJP's 'one person, one post' principle and comes as the party prepares for upcoming elections and a review of ministerial performance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet secretaries of key Union ministries and departments to review their performance, focusing on ease of living, ease of doing business, and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives, amidst strong speculation of an impending Cabinet reshuffle.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State were sworn-in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah met President Droupadi Murmu, following a similar meeting by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, intensifying speculation about an imminent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers. Recent resignations and new organisational appointments for some ministers are contributing to the buzz.
A K Bhattacharya deciphers Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first cabinet reshuffle.
Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut has made significant claims regarding potential political shifts, suggesting Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis might move to the Centre, paving the way for a new BJP chief minister in the state. Raut also announced a 'Ram Raksha Andolan' protest in Nagpur against alleged embezzlement at the Ayodhya Ram temple and commented on delimitation and activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike.
The BJP team under the new national president Nitin Nabin, who took charge in January, is expected to be announced within this month, with sources suggesting that some holding positions in the government may move to the party.
Top BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah and party president Nitin Nabin, met at PM Modi's residence ahead of the Parliament's Monsoon session, amidst speculation of a party and cabinet reshuffle.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reshuffle and expand his council of ministers on Tuesday
In order to implement big ticket ideas which are likely to come via the Budget of 2015, Modi needs better political talent around him, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
Recent BJP organisational moves and Rajya Sabha nominations have sparked speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may soon undertake a ministerial reshuffle.
Dharmendra Pradhan's political career faced an unexpected jolt as he resigned as Education Minister following nationwide protests over the NEET paper leak, marking a significant departure from the government's initial dismissive response to the agitation.
BJP president Amit Shah's influence in the Narendra Modi cabinet revamp was evident from the inclusion of Jagat Prakash Nadda, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
A senior BJP leader said a reshuffle was likely in the next few days as the party would need to accommodate at least a couple of Congress MLAs who have crossed over,
Sitharaman, who was holding the Commerce portfolio (Independent charge), was on Sunday promoted to the Cabinet rank as was Goyal.
The prime minister may go for new faces with an eye on grooming younger leaders while also factoring in caste and regional balances
Speculation mounted on Wednesday evening over the possibility of a Union cabinet reshuffle, may be as early as Sunday, as Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amidst reports that he could get the defence portfolio.
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Congress on Sunday took potshots at Narendra Modi's ministry expansion saying the inclusion of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Giriraj Singh was a "crisp slap" by the prime minister to secularism.
For the past one week, Modi has been holding in-person meetings with Union ministers apparently to take stock of the work done by the government in the last two years and to discuss various issues.
'If the BJP seriously addresses employment, examination integrity and systemic corruption, they might salvage their position. Otherwise, they are heading toward serious trouble in 2027.'
Ahead of the Cabinet expansion and reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hosted a breakfast meet for the new faces to be inducted in his Cabinet.
The already-strained ties between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena further dipped on the eve of the union cabinet reshuffle with the Sena representative unlikely to make an entry at the Centre.
Not only the BJP but key bureaucrats are also known to have hinted to the top leadership of the need to expand the Cabinet.
Four junior ministers - Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Sanjiv Kumar Balyan, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahendra Nath Pandey - have resigned ahead of the rejig.
The reshuffle may take place before Modi departs for China to attend the BRICS summit.
As many as 43 leaders took oath on Wednesday in the first Union Cabinet reshuffle and expansion after Prime Minister Modi returned to power for a second term in May 2019.
Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal have been elevated to Cabinet ministers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on Monday amid a heightened buzz about the likelihood of a Cabinet reshuffle following a series of meetings of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's top brass.
Apart from Smriti, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ananth Kumar took over as law and parliamentary affairs ministers respectively.
The rejig may take place before the assembly election results for Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
This came amid the buzz of an imminent reshuffle in the Union Cabinet.
The Opposition on Sunday was unimpressed with the rejig, which saw the introduction of nine new faces and the elevation of four ministers to Cabinet rank.
Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla, who had crossed 75 years, resigned on Tuesday from the Union Cabinet along with Minister of State for Heavy Industries G M Siddeshwara.
The meeting was held at the newly built convention centre at Pragati Maidan, which will host the G20 summit in September.
The theme of the reshuffle is to fulfill Modi's earlier promise of 'maximum governance, minimum government.' Some key ministries are likely to be merged.
The Union Cabinet held its first physical meeting in over a year on Wednesday. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the first meeting with the Council of Ministers virtually after the Union Cabinet reshuffle on July 7.
Five months into office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will expand and reshuffle his Council of Ministers on Sunday, bringing in new faces and is likely to drop a few.
'The BJP will win comfortably if the Congress and AAP fight separately -- though not with 162 seats.' 'But if they form an alliance, it will become a major problem for the BJP. That's precisely why this expansion is happening now.'
