Rejig in the Modi Government and the BJP finally on the cardsIJ
Yet again, the corridors of power are abuzz with the likelihood of the much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle of the Narendra Modi Government. Such a possibility has been talked about for the last one-and-a-half years, only to see it fall flat. This time, word has it that the reshuffle could be this weekend or early next week. Some senior Ministers have cancelled their scheduled meetings and have got busy finishing pending work, lending credence to the theory. And then, an organisational rehaul of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in sync with the Cabinet reshuffle too has been on the cards. The going has been good for the Government and the BJP so far. But despite a weakened Opposition, the next two years in the run-up to the 2019 general election are no less challenging for Prime Minister Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. If governance and delivery would require a big push to retain the confidence of the masses that had voted overwhelmingly for Modi in 2014, then BJP, under Shah, would be tested on the basis of the Government’s performance so far in around 10-odd Assembly ‘semi-final’ elections before the 2019 finals. The duo, which has time and again spoken of a scenario beyond 2019, indicating at their intentions of being in power at least till 2024, would definitely have it in mind while carrying out the reshuffles in the Government and the party.
The NDA is likely to have its old ally, JD (U), back in its fold formally on Saturday, when the party holds its national executive meeting to announce its decision. A couple of JD(U) MPs making it to the Modi Government is thus not being ruled out. The impending reshuffle also assumes importance since some key Ministries like Defence, Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting are being handled as additional charges. Appointing full-time Ministers for these Ministries by changing the portfolios of some, elevating a couple of Ministers and inducting some fresh faces are possible. The BJP rehaul could see some major changes with an eye on the Assembly elections and next lok Sabha polls that could help it move closer to its stated goal of a Congress-mukt Bharat. The BJP, along with its allies, is already ruling 70 per cent of India’s population with Shah untiringly criss-crossing the length and breadth of the country. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been globetrotting to expand New Delhi’s horizons, then Shah has been emulating him domestically for the BJP’s cause. Shah completed three years at the BJP’s helm last week and is, perhaps, India’s most travelled man in recent times clocking more than 5.50 lakh km and covering over 300 districts of the country. With some of the BJP’s key office bearers having become Ministers in the Yogi Adityanath dispensation after the resounding win in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, this could be compensated with a couple of Ministers in the Government being eased out and drafted for full-time organisational work. The Cabinet and the BJP reshuffles will undoubtedly have the stamp of the Modi-Shah combine. But, none, not even their closest colleagues in the Government or the BJP, can read their mind about the timing of it being carried out. “If you are a Minister and the phone call doesn’t come, it means you are staying put,” said a Minister. The phone call from the Prime Minister, he meant. The prolonged suspense over the call and reshuffle could end in the next few days.