The reshuffle is expected before the Prime Minister leaves on a four-nation tour on July 6, sources said. The PM reviewed the work presentation by the respective ministries. Sources said, the fate of respective in-charges will be decided by the gap between delivery of services and what was promised by the NDA government.
With an eye on five poll bound states, few new faces can be introduced in the Modi cabinet. On the other hand, few existing ministers can be ousted. Especially, the ministers, who have crossed the age criteria given by the PM.
BJP’s decision to drop two ministers from the Madhya Pradesh government on the ground they have crossed 75 years has triggered speculation that such a yardstick could be applied in the much-talked about Union Cabinet reshuffle that is likely to take place soon.
Party chief Amit Shah held a long meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday evening where the two leaders are believed to have discussed the reshuffle and the long overdue organisational rejig.
Union Minister Najma Heptulla turned 75 in April last year and her colleague Kalraj Mishra turns 75 on Friday. Though the party has never put the age rule on record it was widely believed to have been the reason why senior leaders like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were co-opted into the “margadarshak mandal” (guiding group) and kept out of the Cabinet.
With the UP assembly polls scheduled for early next year, some party leaders believe that Mishra, a well-known Brahmin face from the state, may be retained. States like UP and Assam are likely to get more representation in the Council of Ministers while some ministers of state may be promoted, sources said.
According to sources, some ministers of state with independent charge may be elevated as full- fledged cabinet ministers. Piyush Goyal, MoS of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy and Manoj Sinha, MoS of Railways might get cabinet rank, sources said.
The PM held similar meetings in January and May where a detailed presentation of all cabinet decisions taken since May 2014 was made by the different ministries.
Modi gave a pep talk to his ministerial colleagues, asking them shake-off the “negative perception” that not much was happening in the government.
Modi had decided that such meetings would be held on the last Wednesday of every month to keep track of the performance of various ministries. Ministries have been clubbed into three categories — agriculture and related sectors, infrastructure and related sectors, and social and core sectors – for these monthly reviews.