Modi Government “most likely” Shuffle soon, with UP-UK tilt

TIL Desk New Delhi/ Prime Minister Narendra Modi will “most likely” shuffle his ministry before the month ends but the topmost ministers are unlikely to be touched, BJP and government sources have said. A high-level BJP source quashed the suggestions that defence minister Manohar Parrikar would return to Goa as chief minister ahead of state elections next year.

 Panaji had fuelled such speculation claiming the BJP did not expect Laxmikant Parsekar, who became Goa chief minister after Parrikar was inducted into Modi’s cabinet, to be able to deliver a win. Before the 2012 Assembly elections, Parrikar had succeeded in “softening” the BJP’s hard-line image and even win over a section of Goa’s Christians. The BJP doubts Parsekar’s ability to project similar “inclusiveness”.

The two vacancies Modi needs to fill immediately have been caused by the departures of ministers of state Sarbananda Sonowal and Vijay Sampla. Sonowal has become Assam chief minister, and Sampla has been sent to Punjab to head the state BJP. Sources said an Assam MP would replace Sonowal as sports and youth affairs minister, and Sampla’s post in the social justice and empowerment ministry could go to someone from Uttar Pradesh.

The poll-bound heartland state could become the chief beneficiary of the shuffle, they added. Uttar Pradesh already boasts a large slice of the power pie. Of the 26 cabinet ministers, six including the Prime Minister and the home minister are from the state. Three of the 12 ministers of state with independent charge and five of the remaining ministers of state are from the state. Source said the newcomers were likely to be accommodated at the junior level. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, junior minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, may be elevated to cabinet rank, replacing his senior Radha Mohan Singh who could be repatriated to the BJP organisation.

Balyan is a Jat from western Uttar Pradesh, a region where the BJP is assiduously trying to recover whatever ground it has lost to the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj party in the last few Assembly elections. Radha Mohan is from Bihar, where the BJP was routed late last year. Sources said the Bihar presence in the ministerial council could be curtailed with Giriraj Singh, junior minister for micro, small and medium enterprises, being another potential casualty. Giriraj is prone to making intemperate statements against Muslims that have embarrassed and hurt the BJP politically.

Uttarakhand, which gave the BJP all its five Lok Sabha seats, is tipped to get a berth that could go to one of the two chief ministerial contenders, B.S. Koshyari and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. B.C. Khanduri, the third aspirant, is 81 and has crossed the age ceiling of 75 that Modi is believed to have prescribed for those looking to hold office.