Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a marathon meeting of his council of ministers, intensifying the speculation over a cabinet rejig, against the backdrop of the split in the NCP in Maharashtra and the wider thrust to deal a blow to the efforts of the Opposition to join hands against the BJP.

There was speculation about NCP MP Praful Patel, who is seen to have played a key role in facilitating the Ajit Pawar-led split in the party, being rewarded with a berth in the Modi government, to claim that the party was now part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The NCP has five Lok Sabha and four Rajya Sabha MPs, one of them being Patel.

The ruling BJP has been moving aggressively to strike at the Opposition’s unity efforts and trying to expand the NDA, seeking to stress the invincibility narrativeahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Party insiders claimed that the rejig in the council of ministers could see fresh regional leaders endorsing Modi’s leadership.

Sections of BJP leaders said the Shiromani Akali Dal, which had parted ways with the BJP over the farm laws, could be back in the NDA and the likelihood of Harsimrat Kaur Badal being inducted into the government was being speculated in this context. Harsimrat was a cabinet minister before she resigned in 2020 in protest over the farm laws, which were subsequently withdrawn.

Chairing Monday’s meeting, Modi is believed to have assessed the performance of each minister, sparking a buzz of widespread changes in the BJP itself. Party leaders said the indication from the top was that a good number of ministers could be dropped and moved to the organisation to handle elections in key states. Changes in the organisation will also be made to rejuvenate the party apparatus for the Lok Sabha polls.

The poll-bound states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana — along with the stateshaving a large share of Lok Sabha seats such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar would be the focus of the ministerial and organisational changes, according to the party leaders.

The BJP’s operation in Maharashtra to split the Sharad Pawar-led NCP like the Uddhav Thackeray-helmed Shiv Sena was carefully plotted since the state accounts for 48 Lok Sabha seats. Party leaders said some leaders from Maharashtra could be inducted into the Union government in a manner that helps the party electorally.

The BJP managers have also been working on Bihar, which accounts for 40 Lok Sabha seats, and efforts to split the ruling JDU are also being made, sources said. The BJP leadership is learnt to be plotting revenge since chief minister Nitish Kumar ditched the BJP and went back with the RJD. Late Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan’s son, Chirag Paswan, could also be inducted as a minister to strengthen the BJP’s position in a state, seen as the most difficult for the party.

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, due for polls later this year, could see some key faces from the Modi government being moved out to take charge of the party. Insiders indicated the possibility of agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar being given charge of the party in his home state Madhya Pradesh. The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh led by four-term chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is said to be battling anti-incumbency in addition to severe factional fighting in the state unit of the party.

In Rajasthan, the party is in a bind regarding former chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia. She wants to be the chief ministerial face of the BJP again but the party is not inclined. However, the party can’t take the risk of annoying her as she wields clout in the state. A powerful minister is likely to be deputed to tackle the party affairs in the state, according to sources. Vasundhara could also be offered a berth in the Modi government.

The last cabinet reshuffle in 2021 had seen senior ministers like Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javdekar and Harsh Vardhan being dropped and young faces being promoted.