- Reshuffle driven by UP, Punjab assembly, 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
- Ministers like Piyush Goyal, Pankaj Choudhary likely to exit.
- New Cabinet to include more women, youth, Shinde Sena members.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's focus has now shifted to the much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle after the formation of a new national team. The Union Council currently has 69 members, and according to Article 75(1) of the Constitution, the strength could rise to 81.
The reshuffle is expected to fill all the vacant positions and will be guided by the assembly elections in UP and Punjab and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The Union Cabinet recently saw the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET protests, while the Rajya Sabha terms of Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurien had expired.
Who are likely to exit the Cabinet?
After these three changes, the next in line are leaders who have been handed over the roles in the organisation as the saffron party follows a principle of one person, one post.
These names include MoS Finance Pankaj Choudhary, who was appointed by the BJP as Uttar Pradesh unit chief. Similarly, Harsh Malhotra, who was appointed as BJP's Delhi state president, is also likely to exit the PM Modi-led Cabinet.
One of the major exits could be of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, as he was made the BJP's national treasurer.
Besides, the Rajya Sabha terms of BL Verma and Hardeep Singh Puri are also ending in November.
According to a report by NDTV, citing sources, PM Modi may also drop some ministers over their below-par performance.
What to expect in new Cabinet
While the party has not opened its cards on who would be the new entrants, the BJP's recent decisions indicate that the representation of women may rise in the new Cabinet.
Additionally, the report suggests that the younger faces could also get increased opportunities. Some of the new faces could also be included from the Raghav Chadha-led group, who had joined the BJP.
The representation of Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena could also see a rise given the crossover of MPs from Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT). Another big faction that joined the NDA is a group of 20 former TMC MPs led by Kakoli Dashtidar Ghosh after they merged with the NCPI.
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However, their representation in the Cabinet is still uncertain as the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has already filed a disqualification petition in the Supreme Court.