Amit Shah cancelled trip to TN for Modi Cabinet reshuffle?

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 21

Bharatiya Janata Party national President Amit Shah cancelled his three-day trip to Tamil Nadu once again, setting off speculations of an impending reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers.

The reshuffle is believed likely before the prime minister’s visit to Myanmar on September 6-7, his first visit to the country since an ASEAN summit in 2014. 

“He has postponed his visit because his stay in the National Capital was deemed to be more important in the coming few days,” a senior party leader, who did not wish to be quoted, said on Monday when asked about the reason for the postponement.

In a statement, Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Sounderrajan said Shah had to postpone his visit due to a meeting with party chief ministers in Delhi on Monday and his subsequent requirement in various other important meetings.

A tweet by the prime minister soon after the merger was announced said: “I congratulate Thiru O Panneerselvam & others who took oath today. I hope Tamil Nadu scales newer heights of progress in the years to come"

"Centre assures all possible support to CM Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami & Dy CM Thiru O Panneerselvam for the growth of TN," he addedHailing the AIADMK merger, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured all possible help to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy CM Thiru O Panneerselvam for the growth of Tamil Nadu.”

Party leaders claimed that Amit Shah’s visit to Chennai — coming as it did at a time when the two factions of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham were holding talks to announce their merger — was postponed primarily because Shah’s presence in Delhi was deemed important for the next few days, an indication of a long anticipated cabinet reshuffle.

This is the second time Shah’s visit to the southern state was cancelled.

Reports also indicated that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar — who recently announced his party, the Janata Dal (United), would be part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre — has been asked to come to the national capital next week.

Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Harsh Vardhan, Narendra Singh Tomar and Smriti Irani hold additional portfolios. Reports suggest that some ministers could be divested of their own ministries to have them take care of the BJP’s preparations for the general elections of 2019.

Some ministers have also met Shah, who is believed to be working on accommodating southern leaders in the Cabinet.

There is also a talk of 76-year-old Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj being sent to the Bihar Raj Bhawan, but a section of the BJP believed it unlikely because it would mean another vacant Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh — a situation the party is believed keen on avoiding in the light of the recent hospital tragedy in Gorakhpur. 

Union Minister and RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha also met Shah.

Should the NDA choose to adopt its current formula based on strength of its allies, the JD-U, with its two Parliamentarians in Lok Sabha and 10 in Rajya Sabha, would likely get a Cabinet position. The 10 in Rajya Sabha includes Sharad Yadav, who has donned the mantle of rebel and has been seen lately as disagreeing with his party’s official stand.

Also, given Kumar’s importance in Bihar and “the additional value” that he brought to the NDA table — meaning the positive perception his image creates for Prime Minister Narendra Modi — JD-U could get more than just one Cabinet position: it could also secure two ministers of state positions.

The BJP is also believed to have played a role in the merger between the two ADMK factions that was announced on Monday, leading to speculations that they could also be part of the NDA.

With a combined strength of 37 Lok Sabha and 13 Rajya Sabha MPs, AIADMK makes for a formidable party — a party that could even mean rendering NDA ally Shiv Sena, which has been demanding a position at the Centre, redundant. (With inputs from PTI)