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Cabinet reshuffle likely on Sunday with eye on Mission 2019

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Modi-Shah

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to effect a mammoth rejig of his council of ministers on Sunday. The exercise will keep in mind the BJP’s strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and elections to nearly a dozen state assemblies due over the next year

A slew of resignations tendered in by Union ministers like Uma Bharati, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Mahendra Pandey and Radha Mohan Singh over the past 24 hours, has put in top gear Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of effecting a mammoth cabinet reshuffle that is likely to take place on Sunday.

The cabinet reshuffle, sources say, will not be a cosmetic exercise meant purely to fill the many vacant positions in Modi’s council of ministers”. Instead, as a senior BJP leader pointed out, it will be extensive, “with an emphasis on performance and also keeping in mind the party’s strategy for nearly a dozen elections to state assemblies that are due over the next year in the run up to the all important Lok Sabha polls in 2019.”

Uma-RudyClear pointers for the cabinet reshuffle had begun emerging on Thursday with Union finance minister Arun Jaitley indicating at a press briefing that he may not hold the additional charge of the defence portfolio for very long. This was followed late on Thursday evening by a slew of Union ministers who offered their resignations. These ministers include Uma Bharati (minister for water resources and Ganga rejuvenation – citing her health problems), Rajiv Pratap Rudy (skill development), Radha Mohan Singh (agriculture), Faggan Singh Kulaste (health), among others.

The Prime Minister is also expected to make some changes among the important ‘top five’ cabinet posts – although Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh as external affairs and home ministers respectively are not likely to see a change in their roles, finance minister Arun Jaitley is likely to shed his additional portfolio of defence – a charge that he was burdened with after Manohar Parrikar quit the post to become chief minister of Goa. Similarly, railway minister Suresh Prabhu, who had offered to resign last week after two major rail derailments – of the Utkal Express and then the Kaifiyat Express – happened within days of each other, is likely to be moved to the environment portfolio – a charge he had earlier held in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet.Nitin Gadkari Sources say the list of top gainers in the cabinet rejig could include road, surface transport and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari – who is likely to be moved up as the railway minister in place of Prabhu – and textile minister Smriti Irani. While there is a buzz that Modi might even carve a mammoth transport and mobility portfolio – which would include road and surface transport, shipping as well as railways – and install Gadkari as its minister, Irani is likely to retain the additional charge of the crucial Information and Broadcasting ministry, which was given to her after Venkaiah Naidu resigned from the cabinet to become India’s vice president. It is pertinent to recall that in the last cabinet reshuffle by Modi, Irani – who had then held the important human resource development portfolio was moved to the textile ministry, a move that was seen as downgrading her importance in Team Modi.

With elections to states like Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka due over the next 14 months, Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah are also likely to make some inductions from these states while a few ministers from these states may be relieved from their central duties to focus on their home states.

JP NaddaThere is a buzz that Modi might relieve health minister JP Nadda from his cabinet role and ask him to focus on the upcoming Himachal Pradesh elections – where he could be projected as the party’s chief ministerial candidate to take on Congress’ Veer Bhadra Singh. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal or his son Anurag Thakur could be inducted into the council of ministers to represent Himachal. The name of Himachal BJP leader Satpal Singh is also doing the rounds for a minister of state berth. Similarly, BJP leaders Suresh Angadi and Prahlad Joshi (from Karnataka) and Prahlad Patel (from MP) may be inducted into Team Modi while commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman could be eased out of the cabinet to return to her earlier avatar of BJP spokesperson, albeit with an elevated profile.

Given the BJP’s recent alliance with the Nitish Kumar faction of Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, the cabinet expansion is also set to see induction of at least two ministers of state from the JD (U) while talk of also taking in a cabinet minister from the party is still being finalised. Sources said names of JD (U) leaders RCP Singh, Santosh Kushwaha, KC Tyagi and Rajiv ‘Lallan’Singh are doing the rounds for possible induction into Modi’s council of ministers.

There was some speculation earlier that, in a bid to expand the already massive NDA coalition, Modi and Shah could formalise a pact with Sharad Pawar’s NCP and the AIADMK – and members from both these parties could also be inducted. However, while Pawar seems undecided on dumping his alliance with the Congress in favour of the BJP for now, the factional feuds within the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu have forced the BJP to keep the plan of inducting a member of the party as a central minister have been put on hold.

The Union council of ministers currently has 72 ministers – 24 cabinet rank, 12 MoS (independent charge) and 36 MoS. The total number of ministers in the council cannot exceed 81. This means Modi can add nine more ministers for now while replacing as many existing ministers with new ones as he likes. However, while he is expected to fill several vacant seats, the Prime Minister is likely to keep some slots vacant in case inductions from the AIADMK and NCP have to be made in the near future.

Sources said Modi could also ease out a few veterans, like Kalraj Mishra, who have exceeded the party’s age-bar of 75 years for ministerial roles and move them to gubernatorial roles as several posts of Governors are also likely to be filled in the coming months. Similarly some ministers of state with independent charge – like Dr Jitendra Singh and Prakash Javadekar may also be elevated to a cabinet rank.

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At Congress meet, Kharge blames internal bickering, statements against own party leaders for election losses

Kharge noted that the atmosphere was in the Congress’ favour during the elections but pointed out that just the atmosphere being in its favour does not guarantee victory.

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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday asserted that the internal bickering in the party and statements against own party leaders were among the reasons for the loss of the grand old party in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Noting that statements against own party leaders harm the party a lot, Kharge said that tough decisions will have to be taken, accountability be fixed and shortcomings removed by learning lessons from the election results.

In his address during the Congress Working Committee meeting at the AICC headquarters, Kharge highlighted the EVMs issue and said that the EVMs have made the electoral process suspect, stressing it is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

“Unless we fight elections unitedly and stop making statements against each other, how will we be able to defeat our opponents politically?” the Congress president said.

“Therefore, it is important that we strictly follow discipline. We have to remain united under all circumstances. The party also has the weapon of disciplining. But we do not want to put our comrades in any bondage,” he said.

“Therefore, everyone needs to think that a victory of the Congress party is our victory and a defeat is our defeat. Our strength lies in the strength of the party,” the Congress president said.

He also noted that the Congress made a comeback with new enthusiasm riding on its performance in the Lok Sabha polls and said the election results of three states were not as per the party’s expectations.

“INDIA parties formed the government in 2 out of 4 states. But our performance was below expectation. This is a challenge for us in terms of the future,” he said.

“We need to immediately learn from the election results and correct all our weaknesses and shortcomings at the organisational level. These results are a message for us,” he said.

Kharge noted that the atmosphere was in the Congress’ favour during the elections but pointed out that just the atmosphere being in its favour does not guarantee victory.

“We will have to learn to convert the atmosphere into results. What is the reason that we are not able to take advantage of the atmosphere?” he said.

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BJP says it stands for credibility of promises under PM Modi, Congress for crisis

Trivedi mockingly questioned whether Kharge was truthful in his statements made the previous day, implying that his critiques of the BJP were a reaction driven by pressure to reconcile his earlier remarks.

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The BJP said on Saturday that it stood for the credibility of promises made under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, while labeling the Congress party as one suffering from a crisis of credibility, intensifying their ongoing rhetorical conflict over unfulfilled electoral pledges.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the ruling party has expanded its welfare initiatives, including health insurance, free food grains, and cash transfers to farmers, emphasising a strategy focused on wealth creation followed by equitable distribution as the Indian economy has grown over the last decade.

“We believe in the creation of wealth and its distribution. The Congress fosters corruption and depletes wealth,” he stated, referencing numerous unfulfilled promises made by Congress-led governments across various states.

Following Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark labeling “Modi ki guarantee” as a cruel joke after Modi seized Kharge’s guidance on budgetary constraints in state poll announcements, the BJP launched new accusations.

Trivedi mockingly questioned whether Kharge was truthful in his statements made the previous day, implying that his critiques of the BJP were a reaction driven by pressure to reconcile his earlier remarks.

Trivedi highlighted several accomplishments of the Modi government, including the construction of the Ram temple, the abrogation of Article 370, the building of over 14 crore homes for the impoverished, the establishment of more than 51 crore Jan Dhan accounts, and a firm stance against terrorism from Pakistan, to demonstrate the government’s fulfillment of its commitments.

He noted that Kharge, having witnessed notable leaders like PV Narasimha Rao and Pranab Mukherjee manage economic challenges effectively, is now observing the Congress party struggling under the influence of urban Naxals due to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing Kharge’s criticisms on various issues, Trivedi pointed to data from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) indicating a rise in account holders from 11 crore to 25 crore over the past decade.

He also referenced significant infrastructure projects, such as the construction of homes for the poor, 74 new airports, and an impressive pace of 37 kilometers of road built per day, claiming that these initiatives have created substantial employment opportunities.

“India is now ranked third in auto manufacturing and second in mobile phone manufacturing; if anyone is unable to recognize the country’s progress, there is a profound deficiency in their perspective,” asserted the BJP spokesperson.

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Maharashtra elections: Congress says Mahayuti understands its exit is certain

Congress leader Sachin Pilot, also an observer of the Congress party for the Maharashtra elections, said that the ruling Mahayuti alliance is aware that its exit is imminent.      

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The Congress on Wednesday asserted the ruling Mahayuti government in Maharashtra has understood that its exit is certain as the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance is strong and that all its candidates are in a strong position for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot, also an observer of the Congress party for the Maharashtra elections, said that the ruling Mahayuti alliance is aware that its exit is imminent.      

The Congress leader stated that the party is fully prepared and that its ally parties in Maharashtra are strong. He mentioned that the seat-sharing negotiations occurred in a positive atmosphere and that the ruling party has recognized that their exit is inevitable.

“All the candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are in a strong position. The people here have decided to support Congress and its allies in the upcoming Assembly elections,” he said.

He also noted that the alliance’s performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections was impressive. “Wherever Congress contested, our candidates won 80 percent of the seats. We expect this trend to continue,” he added.

Pilot acknowledged that there have been some differences among party members regarding specific seats but assured that those issues would be resolved in the next 2-3 days, ensuring there would be only one candidate from the MVA for each seat.

Earlier in the day, Ramesh Chennithala, Congress in charge of Maharashtra, slammed the BJP, claiming that the party is undermining its alliances in the state.

“The BJP is dismantling its alliances. They are forcefully converting alliance partner candidates into their own party candidates. The people will respond to this,” he stated while speaking to reporters.

Earlier on October 26, Chennithala alleged that crores of rupees have been reportedly offered to two of its MLAs to join Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction, ahead of state Assembly elections.

Chennithala made those allegations while speaking to reporters in the national capital. He also questioned the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Voting for all 288 constituencies for the Maharashtra Assembly elections are set for November 20 and counting on November 23. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.

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