Cabinet rejig: PM to drop the mediocre

Tension is running high in the corridors of power as Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets ready to axe mediocre performers from his Cabinet. The Prime Minister, BJP president Amit Shah and finance minister Arun Jaitley are reportedly drawing up a list of “performers” and “non-performers”.

There have been a series of meetings at the Prime Minister’s 7 Race Course Road residence in the last 24 hours to discuss the reshuffle, expected to be carried out shortly. A rejig is also expected in the organisation and Mr Shah on Saturday held talks with BJP leaders. The Cabinet reshuffle will be carried out with an eye on the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and some fresh faces from the state are expected to be brought in.

Sources said the Cabinet reshuffle could take place by the month-end or in the first week of June.

The PM will be leaving for a bilateral visit to Iran on May 22 and on his return the exercise is likely to gain momentum.

The Cabinet will have a vacancy soon after Assam chief minister-designate Sarbanand Sonowal takes oath as the chief minister in Guwahati. Sources said the BJP is keen to induct two MPs from Assam — Roman Deka and Rameshwar Telo — into the Council of Ministers to spread the influence of the party in the Northeast.

Cabinet ministers Maneka Gandhi, Najma Heptullah, Radha Mohan Singh, Kalraj Mishra and J.P. Nadda are likely to be dropped, sources said. BJP MP Varun Gandhi, sources added, may be inducted as minister of state for sports and youth affairs, and Union minister of state Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi may get Cabinet rank. Senior Bihar BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, sources said, is also in the reckoning for induction into the Union Cabinet.

Sources said the PM, Mr Shah and Mr Jaitley are thinking of dropping a few ministers who could not aggressively implement the government’s agenda. Sources said the few ministers from Bihar likely to be dropped may include Mr Giriraj Singh and Mr Ram Kripal Yadav. MoS for railways Manoj Sinha, who is likely to play a key role in the UP elections, may be elevated to Cabinet rank, sources said. “Caste equations may also play out in picking new entrants for the Cabinet from UP,” sources said.

There is also talk of the portfolios of a few Cabinet ministers being reshuffled. The Cabinet reshuffle, sources said, is also being looked with the intention to bring a few ministers to work for the party and they could get prominent positions in Mr Shah’s new team. The reshuffle, sources said, will also seek a balance in view of next year’s elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.