Reshuffle Time?

With the Parliament session imminent, there is speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing for another Cabinet reshuffle. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and RCP Singh have both resigned as ministers because their Rajya Sabha terms have ended. Singh is from the Janata Dal (United) but was denied a re-nomination because he has fallen out with party leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Both may however get new assignments. Singh is expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while Naqvi’s name is floating around for vice president. Modi may drop more of his Cabinet to bring in new faces considering that this might be the last reshuffle before the 2024 General Election.

New Governors

An overhaul of governors is round the corner. In October, the term of 10 to 12 governors is going to come to an end. The NDA government usually does not believe in extensions, perhaps a reason why even the president did not get another term and the vice president will also probably be changed. Still, many governor aspirants are reaching out to BJP President JP Nadda, the party’s other leaders and even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Falling Numbers

In Maharashtra, there could be more grief for Uddhav Thackeray. The state’s governor is holding the file of 10 members for the Legislative Council nominations sent by his erstwhile government, with names from Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. Now, they have all become irrelevant and new names will be forwarded by the current regime, which means more legislators lined up against Thackeray.

Active Denial

Ever since Jairam Ramesh became the media head of Congress, the party has become aggressive in countering reports. Earlier, issuing denials or reacting to news items weren’t really their strong point because no one really bothered. But Ramesh is proactive. For example, recently, when there was a story that Rahul Gandhi had called AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam to solicit support for Yashwant Sinha’s presidential bid, Ramesh issued a strong denial that mollified ally DMK.

Publicity Matters

A minister in Congress-ruled Rajasthan is said to have asked the company headed by advertising guru Piyush Pandey to handle the publicity of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. This is curious because Pandey is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had refused to take on Congress’ publicity campaign for the 2014 elections. A section of the party is opposing Gehlot on this. Congress officially has, however, not taken any stand on it yet.

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Jayanta Ghosal

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