Sulking members eye 6 vacancies in next rejig
NEWDELHI:The reshuffle of Union council of ministers on Sunday may not be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s last such exercise before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. An expansion is expected in the next few months as Modi can still accommodate six more ministers in his team.
According to the Constitution, the total number of members in the council of ministers, including the Prime Minister himself, must not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, which comes to 82.
At present, there are 76 Union ministers, including the PM.
Sunday’s reshuffle centered around the BJP only and did not involve any of its allies, including the Janata Dal(United), which walked out of the Grand Alliance (Comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress) in Bihar in July to return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after four years.
Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar had dumped the NDA in September 2013 after the BJP named Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.
There was intense speculation that two JD(U) leaders — RCP Singh and Ramnath Thakur — would be inducted in the Union Council of Ministers.
While several ministers are holding concurrent charges, the first indication of another reshuffle taking place soon came from the JD(U) which sounded hopeful of joining the Modi government.
“You never know...after 15-30 days there might be another reshuffle. We should be part of the cabinet,” JD(U) Lok Sabha MP Kaushalendra Kumar said.
The Shiv Sena, BJP’s oldest alliance partner, has for long been sulking and demanding one more Cabinet berth with an important portfolio. Its Lok Sabha MP Anant Geete is already a Cabinet minister.
An angry Shiv Sena reacted sharply to the reshuffle exercise. “NDA is almost dead. It exists only on paper. BJP remembers us only when it needs some support,” party MP Sanjay Raut said.
“We are not hungry for a portfolio or power. The reshuffle is a game of figures for political reasons and we will take appropriate stand at the right time,” he added.
The AIADMK, which is battling internal dissension, too might join the NDA once the dust settles in the southern party.
But Modi will have to keep the bench strength of NDA allies in mind before inducting their members in his government.
While the AIADMK has 50 MPs, the Shiv Sena’s strength is 21. The JD(U) has 12 MPs.