When the last session of Parliament was going on, there was talk that there could be a major change in the Union Cabinet. During the same Parliament session, two ministers also resigned from the cabinet but the expansion could not take place. Then there was talk of extension or reshuffle after the Parliament session but it is about 2 months since the Parliament session ended but no change has happened yet. Meanwhile, the list of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections being held in Uttar Pradesh has indicated that at least two more ministers may also be removed. These include the names of Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State BL Verma. Earlier, similarly Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurien were also out of the cabinet.
All these four leaders were not sent to Rajya Sabha. Ravneet Singh Bittu has returned to Punjab to prepare to contest the assembly elections. At the same time, George Kurian is again engaged in organizational work. Now the names of Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma also seem to be included in this list. The Rajya Sabha tenure of both these leaders is ending at the end of November but they are not being sent to the Rajya Sabha. These ministers can remain ministers for 6 months even without being a member of any House, but there is little hope that they will be made ministers again.
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If we look at the Rajya Sabha elections, apart from the elections being held now, elections are to be held on a total of 4 seats in 2027. Of these, 3 seats are from Kerala and one seat is from Puducherry. However, the Puducherry seat will fall vacant in October 2027. In such a situation, these leaders will not be able to go to Rajya Sabha from that seat. After the changed circumstances in Kerala, Congress will be successful in making its candidates victorious there and the Left will be reduced to two more Rajya Sabha MPs.
What will happen to Hardeep Singh Puri?
Hardeep Singh Puri, the only Sikh face left in the Modi cabinet, is a member of the Rajya Sabha but now he is not being sent to this House again. Hardeep Singh Puri, who was earlier in government service, has been representing India in the United Nations. In September 2017, he became the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs. After this, he became a member of Rajya Sabha for the first time in January 2018. In the Modi government formed in 2019, he was given independent charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry. In 2021, he became the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and is still holding the same post.
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In 2019, he also contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar but lost to Gurjit Singh Aujla. Ever since his name appeared in the Epstein files, there has been talk that he may be dropped from the cabinet. Now his age is 74 years, hence it is believed that his name has not been considered in this regard also.
Will BL Verma get new responsibility?
BL Verma, who became Rajya Sabha MP in 2020, is considered a leader associated with the BJP organization. In 2021, he was made the Minister of State in the Ministry of Cooperation and Development of North Eastern Region. Later, when Narendra Modi government was formed for the third time in 2024, he was made Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution as well as the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Before joining central politics, BL Verma had been working in the organization. He was also close to late former CM Kalyan Singh and comes from Badaun. Now there is discussion that after his removal from the Union Cabinet, he can be fielded in the assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh.
It is noteworthy that he was also in the race to become the President of Uttar Pradesh BJP but at the last moment Pankaj Choudhary lost. Later, when BJP national president Nitin Naveen formed his team, BL Verma was not given any post in it. Now he is not even being sent to Rajya Sabha, so it can be assumed that there are preparations to make him active in the politics of the state by contesting the assembly elections.
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3 more ministers have left their posts
Last time when Rajya Sabha elections were held, the names of two ministers were not in the list. The first was George Kurien and the second was Ravneet Singh Bittu. Ravneet Singh Bittu, who comes from Punjab, has clearly said that he is going to his state. There is a lot of talk that he can contest elections from an important assembly seat. In such a situation, he has been relieved of the responsibilities of the Centre. Similarly, when George Kurien was not sent to Rajya Sabha, he also had to leave the post of minister. Apart from these two, Dharmendra Pradhan, who was the Education Minister, has also resigned and Prahlad Joshi is handling the responsibility of the Education Ministry.
Now more names may be included in this list. The reason for this is BJP's one person one post system. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Minister Harsh Malhotra may also join this list soon. Both of them are MPs of Lok Sabha. Pankaj Chaudhary has been made the president of Uttar Pradesh BJP and Harsh Malhotra has been made the president of Delhi BJP. In such a situation, it is believed that whenever there is a change in the cabinet, both of them will not get a place in it.
In this way a total of 3 ministers have left their posts. The tenure of 2 ministers is ending and 2 more ministers have been given other big posts, so their resignation is also considered certain. However, amid all this the cabinet expansion is stuck. It is believed that a combination is not being formed between the parties already included in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the parties who are now trying to join. Apart from this, there is talk of some ministers refusing to resign. In such a situation, it has to be seen how the vacant posts are filled now and whether this cabinet change will really be keeping in mind the preparations for 2029 or it will just remain a mere filler.