A reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers appears imminent, with the exercise likely to be carried out before the Monsoon Session of Parliament, news agency PTI reported, citing sources aware of the deliberations.
According to their sources, the ministerial reshuffle is expected to be undertaken alongside the announcement of the BJP's new organisational team under party president Nitin Nabin.
"Team Nitin Nabin" is likely to be announced soon, as the BJP top brass is believed to have finalised the list, with younger faces expected to be deployed in prominent organisational roles.
The sources told PTI that Nabin also held consultations with a few Union ministers of state last week.
There are strong possibilities of some Union ministers being shifted to organisational roles in the BJP and party office-bearers being inducted into the Modi government, the sources said.
Speculation is also rife about changes in portfolios of some ministers, while the future of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is under a cloud following controversies related to his ministry, particularly the alleged NEET paper leak and irregularities in the CBSE digital marking system, according to the sources.
The sources suggested that the reshuffle, if it takes place, is likely sometime in July, ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which normally begins in the third week of the month.
The timing of the reshuffle is expected to be finalised keeping in view Prime Minister Narendra Modi's packed schedule.
Prime Minister Modi is on a three-day visit to Seychelles from June 27 to 29 and is also likely to travel to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand between July 6 and 11. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit New Delhi from July 1 to 3.
The sources indicated that there is a growing view within the government's top brass that some key ministries require "fresh blood".
They added that political considerations, including regional, state, caste and loyalty factors, are also expected to influence the composition of the new council of ministers.
Two Union ministers -- Pankaj Chaudhary and Harsh Malhotra -- have already been appointed presidents of the BJP's Uttar Pradesh and Delhi units, respectively.
According to the sources, the BJP is likely to follow its "one man, one post" principle, which could result in their exit from the government.
Two other Union ministers -- George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu -- were not re-nominated by the BJP in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections. Their terms in the Upper House ended on June 21.
While Kurian has already resigned from the Union ministry, Bittu continues to serve as a minister. PTI's sources said he has been asked by the party leadership to focus on the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
Bittu, a former Congress leader and grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, is considered a prominent face of the influential Jat Sikh community.
The sources further said more representatives from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab are likely to be inducted into the ministry, with Assembly elections due in these states next year.
Following the BJP's landslide victory in West Bengal, some of the party's MPs from the state could also be accommodated in the Union Council of Ministers.
According to the sources, there is also a possibility that a few representatives from the rebel Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) groups may secure ministerial berths.
While the 20 rebel TMC MPs have announced their merger with the West Bengal-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India and declared support for the NDA, six dissident Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs have joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The sources said a senior functionary of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena could also be inducted as a Cabinet minister.
One or two among the seven Rajya Sabha MPs who left the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the BJP could also find a place in the council of ministers, according to the sources.
However, the sources cautioned that any decision to induct members from the breakaway TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) factions would depend on the Lok Sabha Speaker's ruling, as their parent parties have sought their disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The speculation over a cabinet reshuffle intensified after Prime Minister Modi met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 23 on the sidelines of the Padma Awards ceremony.
It gathered further momentum after Union Home Minister Amit Shah also met the President on June 25.
Officials described both meetings as courtesy calls, saying the Prime Minister and the Home Minister meet the President at regular intervals.
However, PTI's sources said it was "highly probable" that the issue of the reshuffle figured during the Prime Minister's meeting with the President.
The Rajya Sabha terms of Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and B.L. Verma are due to end in November, and it remains to be seen whether they will be re-nominated to the Upper House.
The terms of three governors -- Thawar Chand Gehlot (Karnataka), Mangubhai Patel (Madhya Pradesh) and Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Uttarakhand) -- are also ending in the coming months, with Gehlot and Patel completing their tenure in July and Singh in September.
According to the sources, some ministers who may be dropped from the Union Cabinet could be accommodated as governors.
However, the sources noted that Prime Minister Modi has consistently kept major decisions under wraps until the last moment, and a clear picture will emerge only after a formal announcement.
(With inputs from PTI)
