BJP Focuses on Two-Thirds Majority Before Ministerial Shake-Up
Contours of NCPs in Maharashtra are to be fixed
Harish Gupta
The much-anticipated Cabinet reshuffle in the Modi 3.0 government appears to have been put on hold, with the political arithmetic in Parliament taking precedence over ministerial changes.
Speculation was rife that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would expand and reshuffle his Council of Ministers either before departing on his three-nation tour or immediately after his return. The buzz intensified after the Prime Minister called on President Droupadi Murmu following a series of high-level meetings with senior BJP leaders and ministers. But the expected exercise has not materialised. With the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on July 20, the likelihood of a reshuffle before the session now appears remote.
According to sources, the delay is linked to the BJP's efforts to strengthen its numbers in Parliament before undertaking any political or organisational overhaul.
One key development being closely watched is the formal recognition by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of the 20-member Trinamool Congress breakaway group, now functioning under the banner of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The process is understood to be moving through procedural stages.
Simultaneously, back-channel discussions are continuing with the NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction. The broad framework of a possible understanding is said to be under discussion, including whether the two NCP factions eventually merge or continue as separate entities while functioning in coordination within the NDA in Maharashtra and Delhi.
Political circles also speak of exploratory contacts with the DMK, a former NDA ally during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, although no concrete outcome has emerged so far.
Sources say the BJP's immediate priority is to edge closer to the two-thirds majority required to comfortably pass constitutional amendment bills. Until that objective becomes clearer, the leadership appears reluctant to undertake a Cabinet reshuffle.
The delay has also pushed back the long-awaited organisational restructuring of the BJP under its youngest-ever national president, Nitin Nabin, suggesting that both the government and the party are waiting for the larger political puzzle to fall into place.
