New Delhi: Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah met, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Uma Bharti, Radhamohan Singh, Sanjeev Balyan and Giriraj Singh resigned from their positions. Reports also suggest that Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to tender her resignation at a time when the BJP-led NDA government has planned a cabinet reshuffle.
The reshuffle is most likely the final rejig before the government heads for the 2019 general elections.
With new allies such as the JD(U) joining the NDA fold, the BJP most likely will appoint leaders from these parties to cabinet positions. The party will also most likely look for a replacement for M. Venkaiah Naidu, who was appointed the Vice President of India, as well as Environment Minister Anil Dave, who passed away earlier this year, and Manohar Parrikar, who stepped down as Defence Minister to become Goa Chief Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be leaving on September 3 for the BRICS summit and the government would like to finish the formalities before his trip. Given that Pitru Paksh, considered an inauspicious period, will run between September 6 and September 19, it is possible that the much-awaited exercise was carried out before Modi leaves for China.
Modi last expanded his team in July 2016 when promoted Prakash Javadekar to the cabinet rank. At the time, he also inducted 19 new faces, dropped five and demoted two ministers of state by divesting them of their independent charge.
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