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Indian PM to reshuffle Cabinet after re-election of ruling BJP chief

Xinhua, January 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reshuffle his Cabinet after his confidante Amit Shah's re-election as ruling party chief, sources said Wednesday.

"The election schedule for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s President will be out Friday and with no other contender for the post, Shah is likely to get re-elected by consensus," the sources said.

The re-election of Shah, credited for helping the BJP win 72 of 80 seats in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in 2014 parliamentary elections, is crucial as polls are due in five states this year.

"Once Shah gets the top post in the party again, Modi will go for a Cabinet reshuffle. The four ministries -- home, finance, defense and foreign -- are unlikely to be touched," the sources said.

However, some new faces may be inducted into the Cabinet and some non-performing ministers are likely to be dropped given Modi is looking to firm up delivery on the governance front, they said.

Several key reforms bills are stuck in the Parliament and winning polls in some of the five states are crucial for the government which doesn't have a majority in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha).

Any bill needs the approval of both the Lower House (Lok Sabha) -- where the government enjoys majority -- and Rajya Sabha where the opposition parties, mainly Congress, are playing spoilsport.

"Once the government gets majority in the Upper House of Parliament, all reforms bills will get through easily and the country will be fast-tracked on reforms path," the sources said. Endit