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With no news on the changes to take place in the much-anticipated Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday morning, even till the eve before it, NDA partners such as the JD(U) and Shiv Sena admitted they were also in the dark. JD(U) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claimed in Patna that there had been “no such talk of the JD(U) joining the Union Cabinet”. “No talks were held on the issue (between the BJP and JD-U),” he said. The JD(U), that only recently crossed over to the NDA camp, is expected to be accommodated in the reshuffle.
Uddhav Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai, “I have got news about the Cabinet expansion only from the media. I have not enquired about it (from the central BJP leadership). I have neither received any communication from anybody nor are we hungry for power.” BJP president Amit Shah, who was expected to drive to Modi’s official residence on Saturday evening for what was believed to be the final round of internal consultations, hadn’t done so till reports last came in. After the meeting, Shah was expected to telephone leaders who would be part of Sunday’s reshuffle individually.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu. There was no official word on the meeting, and she is believed to have met Naidu in her personal capacity. Sources pointed out that Naidu’s exit from the Cabinet meant that no leader from South India figures in the top core group of ministers.
Late on Friday evening, Swaraj and three other top ministers – Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari – had held a meeting at the residence of Singh. The reason for that meeting is not clear. Kalraj Mishra, who was among the ministers speculated to be removed in Sunday’s reshuffle, announced on Saturday that he had “volunteered” to exit from the government. Mishra had met Shah on Thursday, a day when several ministers are believed to have been summoned by the BJP president to seek their resignations.
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