📷 Image Credits: The New Indian Express
In a strategic move aimed at strengthening the next Union Cabinet with more performing ministers, the BJP is reportedly considering dropping several ministers of Modi government’s second term. The jettisoned ones may include those ministers who are defeated in the recent Lok Sabha elections. About 19 ministers of Modi’s second term have lost the elections with a significant margin of votes, including prominent names like Smriti Irani, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, RK Singh, and Arjun Munda. The BJP leadership is poised to introduce new faces in place of those who faced electoral setbacks or won by narrow margins to inject dynamism into key ministerial portfolios for effective governance and delivery of promises made to the electorate.
The forthcoming cabinet reshuffle is expected to reflect regional representation, caste dynamics, and administrative competence. Key ministries under scrutiny for changes include finance, commerce, industry, tribal affairs, and power. The BJP ally JD(U) is also in talks to secure key ministerial berths to reclaim lost ground in Bihar. The reshuffle is anticipated to coincide with the conclusion of PM Modi’s 9-year tenure and the 140th birth anniversary of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, known for his ideology influencing the BJP.
The reshuffle is crucial as nine states gear up for assembly elections next year, with the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for 2024. The changes in the cabinet are also predicted to align with the revamping of the BJP organization, following the conclusion of the tenure of current party national chief Jagat Prakash Nadda. Speculations suggest that MPs from states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh might be accommodated in the new cabinet to ensure a strategic balance in alignment with the upcoming electoral contests.