It remains to be seen it our ‘saree diplomacy’ worked or didn’t with the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, but there was a furor in the BJP. Sources reveal that Union Minister of State-Independent Charge of Sports and Youth Affairs, Sarbananda Sonowal was so cut up about relaxing the visa rules for people from Bangladesh that he met Modi and offered his resignation. It is worth mentioning that prior to joining the BJP, Sonowal was with the Asom Gana Parishad, and is considered to be an effective and proactive Assam youth leader. That is also the reason why the BJP may him the state party president as well. In fact, in his election speeches during election rallies in the north-east, Modi too was talking about sending Bangladesh immigrants back. And this is exactly what Sonowal mentioned to Modi, saying that the party will have no place in Assam after the visa rules for Bangladeshis were relaxed. The clever Modi instead told Sonowal that he will handle the Bangladesh matter himself and that he need not have any worries about it. The visa issue had come to the fore in the past as well and it was revealed that the home ministry and foreign ministry had serious differences about it. At such a time, a prominent cabinet minister advised Modi that just like in the UPA regime different matters within the foreign ministry were being taken care of by retired IFS officers who were appointed as advisors, this government should do the same. To this Modi said, “Because Sushma ji is a senior leader in our party and also our most veteran leader, we will not take one step without consulting her and not do anything that might hurt her feelings.”

The Vyapam Scam in Madhya Pradesh had gained traction and there was questions being asked within the party that if even the Congress did not fan the fire, how come it took such a gigantic form, which has become big enough for the state Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan feel the heat. Sources reveal that the IB has a possible role to play in it and it is said that the head of the body had given the final nod to it. Which means Modi’s policy of keeping the party satraps under tight rein is finally working. Goa’s Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Chattisgarh’s Dr Raman Singh have already got offers from Modi to join the Cabinet. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s loyalist MLAs have also been identified but their number is so small that they are virtually insignificant. Thus, more will happen in the days to come regarding Modi-centric politics in the BJP.

To set new benchmarks for good bilateral relations between India and Australia, the Indian government is inviting Australian fashion designers to come to India so that they can market their brands better. A few days ago, Australian embassy in India organized a fashion show by Australia’s prominent designers Pamela Easton and Lydia Pearson. To charm the BJP and Modi, the designer duo created the entire collection based on the colour saffron and filled in the colours of the clothes with flower prints. Someone had told the designers that the party symbol of the BJP is the lotus and so they created the clothesline yet again, saffron with lotus motifs. The designer duo of Pamela Easton and Lydia Pearson has collaborated with an Indian company that is owned by a Gujarati woman – Sudha Patel. The most special thing is that the Indian edition of the designer label ‘Easton Pearson’ will be inspired by the Kutch area of Gujarat. The lotus is indeed blooming and so is Gujarat.

Prime Minister Modi has given a strict advice to his ministers that they should include the juniors, that is state ministers in their decisions. But most junior ministers from Modi’s government have complained that in most cases, the file doesn’t even reach them. The sole exception being Nitin Gadkari, who not only keeps the junior minister Krishnapal Gujjar along with him for every department meeting, but also introduces him to all officials. It is another matter that Gujjar doesn’t open his mouth even once during the meeting; after all, Gadkari has opened up his heart.

Ever since Central ministers are having to take permissions from the PMO to appoint their personal secretaries, the entire political perspective seems to have changed. Several ministers have even been offered the names of their secretaries by the PMO itself. At such a time, the Central ministers are worried that their department secretaries, that is the IAS officers, are singing their own tunes. That is because Modi has allegedly told all department secretaries that they can contact the prime minister and the PMO directly and can complain to the PMO if they are dissatisfied with the way the minister is carrying out his duties. Due to this, several ministers feel that secretary is keeping a keen eye out for them. A veteran Cabinet minister was called by the PMO to make his department presentation and because the minister’s PS was a new one and didn’t have any prior experience of working with any minister, the minister tried to tap into what makes Modi click and burnt the midnight oil to prepare the presentation on his own. When the presentation reached his secretary, he trashed it completely and sent him a note, “I am not happy with the presentation. Please make it again.” The minister is shocked and wondering who is the boss in Modi-Raj – the minister or the secretary?

Sources reveal that about a dozen new ministers may be inducted into the Cabinet and the maximum number of ministers may come from the Maharashtra quota. Assembly elections are round the corner in the state and the names of Kirit Somaiya, Hansraj Aheer and late Pramod Mahajan’s daughter Poonam Mahajan’s name is ahead in the race. Sources also say that Modi has personally spoken to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and seeing his pro-people image, he wants to give Parrikar an important position in the Cabinet, although Parrikar has not made up his mind about it. RPI’s Ramdas Athawale from Maharashtra quota may be inducted into the Cabinet to attract Dalit votes. It also seems that Modi is bent upon making his close aide Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi a minister, who lost out on a Cabinet berth at the last minute due to opposition by the Advani lobby. It is also being said that Rajiv Prasad Rudy, the party’s MP from Chapra in Bihar and a high-profile party leader, also has his name on the list. It is believed that Rajnath Singh himself is lobbying for his name. West Bengal’s MP S S Ahluwalia and Babul Supriyo’s names are also in the fray, as is Himachal Pradesh’s Anurag Thakur. Anyone from Uttarakhand can become a minister. Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal, who is a MP from UP’s Mirzapur, may be made a state minister. A few new faces from Rajasthan may become ministers, too. If Anurag Thakur gets lucks from the Himachal quota, Jagat Narayan Naddha may take care of the party affairs. The special thing this time is that the Prime Minister himself is showing interest in the choice of the ministers.

Despite voices of discontent from several corners of the party, Narendra Modi has made all preparations to crown his closest confidante Amit Shah as the party president. Several prominent leaders in the Sangh and the BJP didn’t want the ‘Gujaratisation’ of the saffron party. These people believe that the BJP is a cowbelt party, has a north Indian roots and should have significant representation from the Hindi-speaking belt. To this Modi said, “Atal ji may have been born in Madhya Pradesh but the people always considered him to be from Uttar Pradesh.” On similar lines, Modi wants that he be called as UP-wala because he is a MP from Varanasi. There is a chance of Amit Shah’s name being announced for the party’s top post and it is hoped that Shah will give more importance to party satraps from the states, and will concentrate on the six states where Assembly elections will be held soon. Sources close to Modi also says that is it likely that he may make the announcements of a Cabinet reshuffle and the new party president with a gap of two-three days. The Budget Session is due to start on July 7 and it is possible that this takes place before the session or after the Budget has been presented.

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The BJP seems to be a tad worried about the party in smaller and newer states. Sources reveal that the Central Home Minister Rajnath Singh has asked the State Reorganisation Commission to give details about the demand for new states. It is worth mentioning here that when the Mayavati government was about to go from the state, it had sent a proposal to the Central government the big state of UP should be divided into four parts – that is, Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh and Avadh Pradesh. But where the BJP is concerned, it doesn’t want the formation of a separate Harit Pradesh because if it comes into being it will include the western parts of the state and the BJP feels it will be a Muslim-dominated state, with a Muslim population of more than 45 per cent. Thus, while the BJP is in favour of a separate Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand and Avadh Pradesh, it wants Harit Pradesh to be a part of Avadh Pradesh. The party hopes that when the proposal to form these three states is presented in the Parliament, most big and small political parties will support it apart from Mulayam Singh and Mamata Banerjee. So much so that parties such as the Congress, TDP and AIDMK will also not be able to oppose it.

All those who thought Smriti Irani, the youngest minister in the Modi government, playing on a weak wicket are speechless because of Irani’s political moves. When Irani first held the joint secretary-level meeting of her ministry, most IAS officers went with the opinion that they will have to make a presentation to one who has merely passed class 12 and so they were not worried at all. But the minute the meeting between the officers and Minister started, the officers were surprised to see the level of preparation by the minister. Irani’s self-confidence took them by surprise and one of the IAS officers came out and remarked to his colleague, “Hats off, man. So much self-confidence that all my education had to be put on the side. Today itself I am going to tell my daughter she should take personality development courses along with preparing for competitive exams.” Which means Smriti Irani has got a fan club in the new avatar

After painting the Nizam saffron in Delhi, Narendra Modi is preparing of a significant change in the party and the government. Those who are in Modi’s good books have a rest-easy expression on their faces because the man himself is taking the steps to give his Cabinet a new look and that at least this time he will take the final decision about the list of new ministers and the ministries they will get. It is being hoped that several Cabinet ministers will see their baggage decrease, although 30 days aren’t enough to test the ministers on their ability to handle their ministries. But then Modi is a master of the political game and is able to decipher what the whispers are saying. Thus, it is believed that dividing departments will have to be a balancing act. New faces have been identified for crucial departments such as Defence, Communications, Rural Development and Environment and the only delay is that of the announcement.