Ministers Line up to meet BJP Chief ahead of polls – Changes in Cabinet?
Though a cabinet shuffle has been in the works for months, speculation has intensified in the past few days following meetings amidst BJP president JP Nadda and various ministers
With just nine months to go for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to go in for cabinet reshuffle as the ruling BJP gears up for important state polls and the 2024 national elections.
Even as a cabinet shuffle has been in the works for months, in the past few days, speculation has intensified following meetings amidst BJP president JP Nadda and various ministers and party leaders.
The changes are likely to be announced any day now, at least before the monsoon session of parliament starting July 20.
Notably, this week, a stream of ministers visited Nadda at the BJP’s headquarters in Delhi.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was among the first to meet with the BJP chief.
Kiren Rijiju, recently removed as Law Minister, and Arjun Ram Meghwal, who replaced him, have also held discussions with Nadda. The others include Minister of State for Health,
SP Baghel, Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, and Minister of State for Food Processing, Pralhad Singh Patel.
The meetings have raised the possibility of ministers being shifted to party roles and new ministers being brought in. There are also reports that ministers like Nirmala Sitharaman, who is a member of Rajya Sabha, may be asked to contest the Lok Sabha election.
In the last two days, the BJP has also made organisational changes, appointing new chiefs in various states.
Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy was given charge of Telangana, which has triggered speculation about more ministers being handed state responsibilities. Sunil Jakhar, a Congress import, was made BJP chief in Punjab and Babulal Marandi, Jharkhand.
The changes are expected to impact those who are from states where elections will be held in the coming months – Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Most of the ministers who met with the BJP chief are from poll-bound states, Shekhawat from Rajasthan and Patel and Jyotiraditya Scindia from Madhya Pradesh.
Sources reveal that the ministers could also have been called for consultations on who from their states could be brought to the Centre.
News input KV Raman
