Now that the BJP’s new national team is in place, focus has shifted to a reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers, with those who got party roles, plus those who conclude their terms in Parliament, likely to make way for new allies and younger faces, sources told NDTV on Tuesday.
Political considerations won’t be all, though, as the leadership may also want to ease the load on some ministers holding multiple portfolios. The Council currently has 69 members, including the Prime Minister. Article 75(1A) of the Constitution permits a strength of 81. That leaves 12 berths vacant. The changes will be shaped by the 2029 Lok Sabha elections as well as some assembly polls due before that, sources told NDTV.
Who Might Make Way: Party Roles, Terms Ending
Three changes have happened recently anyway. Dharmendra Pradhan quit as Education Minister amid a youth protest over paper leaks. Minister of State for Minority Affairs George Kurien and MoS (Railways) Ravneet Singh Bittu have resigned as their Rajya Sabha terms concluded. More recently, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has been made treasurer of the party in a recast of the central BJP structure under new national chief Nitin Nabin. Then there are those facing Rajya Sabha term deadlines. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State for Social Justice BL Verma will conclude their current terms in November. Age may become a factor, too, when deciding who stays, who goes, and who comes in. As for states, inductions are being considered from Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, which are currently ruled by the main Opposition party Congress. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra are also on this list, besides Uttar Pradesh, which goes to polls early next year, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat, where elections are due by the end of next year.
When Modi 3.0 took office in 2024, over 65 per cent of ministers were in the 51-70 age group and 24 per cent in the 31-50 group. At present, at least 12 cabinet ministers and ministers of state with independent charge are above 70 years of age. Jitan Ram Manjhi, 81, from the ally party HAM from Bihar, is the oldest cabinet minister. K Ram Mohan Naidu, 38, is currently the youngest; he is also from an ally party, the TDP from Andhra Pradesh.
Sources told NDTV the number of younger ministers and women is likely to rise.
