Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek to enhance his party’s credentials and weed out underperformers in his cabinet with a reshuffle expected to take place soon after Amit Shah is re-elected as BJP president.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces a crucial election test in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh in 2017 that it probably needs to win if it wants to hold on to power nationally in 2019.
Assembly elections in five states- West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam where the party traditionally has little presence- and the Uttar Pradesh polls will have a major bearing on the exercise as the government is firm on its development agenda.
Moreover, rising instances of rebellion within the party will also be a significant factor. A party insider claimed while the top ministries may be left untouched, some ministers could be deputed to organisational work. “The performance of the ministries and ministers will be taken into account.
Some ministers who underperformed might be sent to other ministries or they may also be shifted to the organisation,” the party leader said.
According to report in Reuters, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may be moved to defence after he delivers his annual budget in February.
Jaitley has failed to push through major tax reform scheme and critics point to the lack of job creation under his stewardship.
The report further adds fuel to speculations that if Jaitley is moved, Piyush Goyal may be rejigged to Finance Ministry.
The ex-investment banker has turned around state-run Coal India, tackled chronic power shortages and backed renewable sources of energy.
A day before Amit Shah is slated to return for a full-term as the BJP president, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a dinner for party office-bearers on January 23.
A BJP functionary said the dinner will coincide with Shah completing the remainder of the term of Rajnath Singh, who demitted the post after joining the union cabinet following the party’s triumph in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had on Wednesday announced the schedule for the election of the party’s national president.
The party’s returning officer Avinash Rai Khanna said the nomination will take place on January 24 and the scrutiny will be done on the same day. If necessary, the election will be held on January 25.