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New Delhi: Ahead of the reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, which is likely tomorrow, reports say that the ‘P and N’ formula is being applied for decision-making on ministers and their portfolios. The formula consists of and excel sheet with performance ratings of the existing ministers of the Modi Cabinet.
According to Zee News, an excel sheet has been submitted to PM Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah. The excel sheet has the list of existing ministers of the Modi Cabinet, who have been marked P (indicating positive) and N (indicating negative) on the basis of their performance so far.
The ministers with P are likely to be retained while those ranked N may lose their portfolio. Reports say the final decision lies with Modi and Shah.
In the countdown to the Cabinet reshuffle, which is expected to take place between 5 and 7 pm on Saturday, several ministers have resigned. Rajiv Pratap Rudy resigned as the Skill Development Minister saying that he has taken this step to work for the party. Minister of State for Water Resources Sanjeev Balyan, MoS MSME Giriraj Singh, Kalraj Mishra and Mahendra Nath Pandey have also resigned.
Reports suggest that Cabinet Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti has also offered to resign on health grounds. Apart from her, there is a buzz that Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Faggan Singh Kulaste has also offered to resign. Nirmala Sitharaman is also likely to step down as Minister of State for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Speculation is rife that the reshuffle could witness the entry of Bharatiya Janata Party’s new ally Janata Dal-United (JD-U) into the Cabinet. According to media reports, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi might be replaced by Rajiv Pratap Rudy as the former may get to join the Modi Cabinet.
The first Cabinet reshuffle under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took place on November 9, 2014 which saw the induction of 21 new ministers, including Suresh Prabhu, Manohar Parrikar among many others. The second rejig took place on July 5, 2016 wherein, 19 new faces were inducted in the Modi Cabinet. All eyes are now on the highly speculated third reshuffle.
