Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday met President Droupadi Murmu, fuelling speculation about a much-awaited reshuffle in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers, even as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries indicated the likelihood of a rejig in both the government and party organisation.
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The meeting came days after Union minister George Kurian resigned as the BJP chose not to renominate him to the Rajya Sabha. His departure was seen as a sign of the reshuffle ahead of polls in key states such as Uttar Pradesh due next year.
Modi met Murmu on the day Kurian resigned on Tuesday. The meeting was officially described as routine, even as it sparked speculation about the reshuffle before Parliament’s monsoon session.
BJP leaders familiar with internal deliberations said the proposed rejig is expected to go beyond filling vacancies. “The party’s top leadership may assess the ministerial performance, regional representation, and the evolving political requirements of the [ruling BJP-led] National Democratic Alliance (NDA),” said a BJP leader, requesting anonymity.
Ravneet Singh Bittu, another minister whose Rajya Sabha term has ended, has not been renominated. Others, such as Pankaj Choudhary and Harsh Malhotra, have been assigned organisational responsibilities in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The BJP has a “one person, one post” policy that separates government and organisational roles.
A second BJP leader said that electoral considerations are likely to play a major role in any reshuffle. “West Bengal, where the BJP swept to power in the April-May assembly elections, may be among the states that get greater representation in the Union government. The leadership may also consider demands from alliance partners as the NDA seeks to maintain cohesion,” he said, asking not to be named.
The defection of six Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha members to Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena increased its tally to 13 in Parliament’s lower House. Shiv Sena is now the second-biggest constituent of NDA after Telugu Desam Party (16 seats). The Janata Dal (United) has 12 seats.
People aware of the matter said the BJP is examining options for accommodating leaders outside active electoral politics. Kurian, a veteran Kerala leader regarded as one of the party’s prominent Christian faces in the south, might get a gubernatorial assignment. The terms of some governors are due to end in the coming months. Vacancies could provide opportunities for such appointments. Former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi was this year named as India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh.
BJP functionaries said ministerial vacancies, organisational restructuring, and upcoming state elections have created the conditions for a significant reshuffle in the council of ministers.
Rejig in both the party and the government has been on the cards also since the appointment of new BJP president Nitin Nabin in January. Nabin, 45, the BJP’s youngest president, is expected to balance between experienced leaders and younger faces in his new team.
There has been no expansion or reshuffle since the BJP-led NDA government returned to power for a third consecutive time in June 2024.
The organisational reshuffle will be closely watched as the BJP prepares for the next round of polls, including the 2027 assembly, Presidential, and the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
In 2027, elections are due in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat. The party is in power in five of these states and is looking for significant gains in Punjab, where it is no longer allied with the Shiromani Akali Dal and is preparing for a contest with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.
There is a possibility that the Union Cabinet and the national BJP team will include leaders from the poll-bound states and the five states where elections concluded in May.
