INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on July 3 amid talk of a possible Union
Cabinet reshuffle ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.The July 3 meeting is likely to be held at the newly-built convention centre at
Pragati Maidan in the national capital, which will host the G20 summit in September, officials said.On Wednesday, PM Modi held extensive
deliberations with Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and key party leaders.Nadda's participation in the meeting led to
talks about possible changes in the government and BJP organisation, including at the state-level, as the party gears up for key assembly
elections due later this year and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.Assembly elections are due in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Telangana and Mizoram later this year.For the past few days, Shah, Nadda and BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh have held
several rounds of deliberations on organisational and political issues.The Council of Ministers' meeting will be held days before the
Monsoon session of Parliament, which is likely to begin in the third week of July
There has not been a major reshuffle in the Modi Cabinet in nearly two years
However, in May, the Modi government had removed Kiren Rijiju as law minister and replaced him with Arjun Ram Meghwal.In July 2021, the
Cabinet had undergone a major revamp when 12 ministers were axed from the Modi government and 17 new ministers were sworn in.During the
previous reshuffle, ministers like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsh Vardhan, Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Santosh Gangwar were
removed from the Cabinet.On the other hand, new entrants like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narayan Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal and Ashwini Vaishnaw
were added to the Cabinet.(With inputs from agencies)
