All the four Ministers of the BJP on Tuesday put in their papers, paving way for the expected Cabinet reshuffle. The move came nearly a fortnight after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) carried out a reshuffling exercise of its ministers.
The BJP has four Cabinet berths in its share, while the SAD is heading 14, including the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. Even as the BJP leadership has been categorically denying that its ministers have resigned from the Cabinet, reliable sources in the party told The Pioneer that the resignations has been submitted to the State BJP chief Kamal Sharma.
BJP, post lok Sabha elections, has been considering to reshuffle its ministers. It was long anticipated that final decision would be taken in a meeting headed by State party affairs in-charge Shanta Kumar with party MlAs and state leadership on Wednesday to collect feedback on the performance of ministers.
Kumar is also scheduled to meet CM Parkash Singh Badal, and forward the names of new BJP leaders the party proposes to induct in the Cabinet.Available information suggests that a couple of ministers may be shown the door for their sub-par performance in their assembly constituency vis-à-vis departments.
BJP Ministers include Anil Joshi (head of local Bodies and Medical Education and Research departments), Chunni lal Bhagat (heading forests and wildlife and labour), Madan Mohan Mittal (heading Industries and Commerce, Technical Education and Industrial Training, and Parliamentary Affairs Ministries) and Surjit Kumar Jiyani (handling Health and Family Welfare, Social Security and Development of Women and Children.
This would be the second reshuffle among BJP ministers after the SAD-BJP combine formed second consecutive government in the state in 2012, and third of the Badal government. In 2013, departments of BJP ministers were shuffled.
During SAD-BJP’s previous term, BJP has asked all its ministers to resign before conducting a cabinet reshuffle exercise in the wake of corruption charges in Rs 1.50 crore graft case, in which a party MlA Raj Khurana was arrested and the names of two ministers also figured.
It has been learnt that the both Bhagat and Joshi may find it difficult to keep hold of their cabinet seats. Bhagat may be replaced owing to his “poor” performance as the legislature party leader, and as a minister too.
The SAD-BJP combine also faired badly in his constituency, Jalandhar West, during parliamentary polls leading to combine’s candidate Pawan Kumar Tinu’s defeat. Tinu secure just 27,118 votes in his segment against 48,599 votes polled in favour of Congress candidate.
On the other hand, Joshi, the day lok Sabha results were declared, put in his papers owning moral responsibility of party’s stalwart Arun Jaitley’s defeat from Amritsar lok Sabha seat. Jaitley lost by 18,726 votes from Amritsar North assembly constituency, represented by Joshi, who was also given the responsibility of handling party’s campaign in urban pockets.
As their replacements, names of former cabinet minister Manoranjan Kalia and former state BJP president Ashwani Sharma are doing the rounds.The party may also take care of the caste equations if it wanted to replace Bhagat, who is the only Dalit minister of the saffron party. Besides him, the party has two other Dalit MlAs — Phagwara MlA and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash, and first-timer Bhoa MlA Seema Devi.
Denying all reports, state BJP president Kamal Sharma claimed that no BJP minister has resigned from the Punjab Cabinet.Sources maintained that the party leaders are keeping the resigns by ministers under wraps as it wanted to make it public only after a high-level meeting between BJP leadership led by Shanta Kumar and Chief Minister, likely to be held on Wednesday.
Kumar is expected to reach Chandigarh late Tuesday evening, and may hold a meeting of BJP leaders to contemplate over the report by the party’s review committee headed by Balram ji Dass Tandon to find out the reasons about BJP’s poor performance in recently concluded parliamentary elections.