The success of going to polls in Assam with a Chief Ministerial face will define the reshuffle in the Union Cabinet. Confirming a restructure was on its way, albeit without giving the date, BJP president Amit Shah on Friday told mediapersons: “I am not going to discuss it with you. A lot of factors have to be taken into account, including the political situation or the time.”
Sources said that the leadership’s main concern was winning Assembly elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Punjab in the coming winters. “More than the performance of ministers at the Centre, it’s the suitability of a face for winning the state polls which is going to matter,” said a party leader. The changes could take place before the party’s national executive meeting in Allahabad on June 11-12.
Such considerations could mean that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar could be sent back to Goa especially after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has thrown gauntlet in the ring declaring that it would contest the next Assembly polls in the state. He could otherwise continue in the Union Cabinet as Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal did but the difference is that in Assam there was a Congress government and in Goa there is a BJP government.
The other factor which is going to dictate the reallocation of responsibilities is strengthening the party structure at the Centre. Towards this end, two Ministers of State Nirmala Sitharaman and Prakash Javadekar, both former party spokespersons, may be shifted from the government to party. Vice-versa, party general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Bhupendra Yadav could be brought into the government.
Since Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah would be turning 75, she too could be shifted to party or a gubernatorial position. On the 75-years’ issue, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel could be relieved of her charge and accommodated elsewhere. From the younger lot in the ministry, Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Power is being tipped for a promotion as a Cabinet Minister.
To strengthen its position in Uttar Pradesh, Gorakhpur firebrand MP Yogi Adityanath could be accommodated at the Centre. There also could be an induction from Uttarakhand, which is unrepresented and is set to go to polls. Jorhat Lok Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, who agreed to contest against Tarun Gogoi and lost in the Assembly polls, could come in as replacement for Sonowal, who has since resigned.
Well-placed sources, however, ruled out any indication of change in the responsibility of the big three — Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
The leadership also in the next few days has to finalise party’s candidates for the 58 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant. Among the retiring ministers Piyush Goyal has already filed his papers from Maharashtra but it’s not clear from where others like M Venkaiah Naidu, Nirmala Sitharaman and Chaudhary Birender Singh would be re-elected. After the biennial polls, the BJP would improve its position in the Rajya Sabha by four seats, given poor performance by the Congress in just concluded state Assembly polls.