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BJP positions remain vacant since cabinet reshuffle
BJP
positions remain vacant since cabinet reshuffle
By
Brajendra Nath Singh
New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet formation
has left his party depleted of leaders to take charge of crucial postions.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah has been unable to fill
positions after many of the office bearers of the party were sworn in to
perform ministerial functions last November.
"More than five months after the reshuffle, we are still facing vacancies.
It has resulted in serious organisational crisis in the party," a BJP
source told IANS, not wishing to be identified.
A party spokesman refused to comment on the matter, saying it was the
prerogative of the party president to fill postions as and when he desires.
Shah had announced his team in July last year after taking over as the party
president. His team had 11 vice presidents, eight general secretaries
(including one general secretary) and 14 secretaries.
Of the 11 vice presidents, four left. Bandaru Dattatreya was made minister of
state (independent charge) for labour and employment and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
given minority affairs. Raghuvar Das became chief minister of Jharkhand and
Kiran Maheshwari was inducted into Vasundhara Raje's government in Rajasthan as
cabinet minister of public health and water resources.
Out of eight general secretaries, three were assigned responsibilities as
ministers in the Modi government. J.P Nadda was made cabinet minister with
health portfolio, Rajiv Pratap Rudy was made Minister of State (independent
charge) for Skill and entrepreneurship and Ramshankar Katheria was given
responsibility as minister of state for human resource development.
Adding to the earlier vacancies, six seats of vice presidents, five of general
secretaries and one post of Secretary are now lying vacant in the party.
At present there are 64 ministers in Modi Cabinet, including 26 cabinet
ministers, 13 ministers of state (independent charge) and 25 ministers of
state.
A party officials who did not want to be named told IANS that a few months
back, Shah had requested Modi to allocate organisation work to some of the BJP
leaders. But no such decision was taken.
According to the party constitution, no post can remain vacant for more than
six months. The time limit may be breached soon, says the official, unless Shah
moves fast to fill in the vacancies.
With many "efficient and experienced" party officials getting
ministerial berths, the party president is finding it hard to fill positions, the
official said. That was the reason why in a rate move Ram Madhav, an RSS
functionary, was brought in as general secretary of the party organisation, he
added.