Tridib Raman
Defying all speculation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is turning the long-awaited reshuffle of his Council of Ministers into an even greater mystery. Until now, it was widely assumed that the Prime Minister would carry out the exercise before the beginning of Pitru Paksha, the period of paying homage to ancestors, which begins on September 26. But how? The Prime Minister’s packed schedule over the coming days offers little indication that such an exercise is imminent. Modi is scheduled to travel to Gujarat on September 20 and will be in Delhi for just one day, September 21. Even that day, however, his schedule is already packed. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is normally informed well in advance about such events so that the President can be present in Delhi on the day of the swearing-in ceremony. According to sources, no such prior intimation has yet been given to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The very next day, September 22, 2026, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi. After returning from there, he will remain in the capital on September 23-24 for a ‘chintan baithak’ with his ministers. That leaves only September 25 as a possible date, since Pitru Paksha begins the very next day. It is worth recalling that during the Modi 2.0 tenure, the first expansion of the Council of Ministers took place on July 7, 2021, when 43 ministers were sworn in. Subsequently, on October 21, 2021, Modi organised a chintan shivir for his ministers, focusing on ‘governance’ and ‘policy-making’. It is also worth recalling that before the July 7 cabinet reshuffle, Modi had held a chintan baithak with his ministers on June 20, 2021, dividing them into groups of five. During that exercise, the ministers presented ‘vision reports’ for their respective ministries before the Prime Minister. This time, for the September 23-24 chintan baithak, the ministers have been divided into groups of eight and have been asked to share their ‘vision reports’. So, can it be assumed that the PMO may review the performance of the current ministers and assess them on the basis of the presentations and the deliberations that follow? Perhaps the entire process could take another 15-20 days. By then, Navratri will have begun, a period traditionally considered particularly auspicious for undertaking new initiatives. It could be then that Modi gives his Council of Ministers a new look and composition. Meanwhile, it is also being speculated that the government could soon convene the remaining part of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, during which the possibility of introducing a Delimitation Bill could be explored.
Could Modi Change His Parliamentary Constituency?
Tridib Raman
Speculation is at its peak that in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2029, Modi could bid farewell to his current parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, and move to another constituency close to his heart, Vadodara, located in his home state of Gujarat. These speculations have gathered momentum since Modi began giving Vadodara special attention during his third term. He has made several visits to the city in recent months. As recently as September 17, on the occasion of his birthday, there was a rush of activity in Vadodara to organise celebrations marking the Prime Minister’s birthday. It is also being said that the Gujarat unit of the party has issued specific directions to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation to ensure that arrangements across the city, from cleanliness to street lighting, remain in impeccable order. It may be recalled that Modi contested the historic 2014 Lok Sabha election from both Varanasi and Vadodara and registered a record victory in Vadodara by a margin of 5.7 lakh votes. The fact remains that, with the intention of consolidating the Hindi heartland, he vacated the Vadodara seat and continued as the MP from Varanasi. In 2024, Dr Hemang Joshi won the Vadodara parliamentary seat. He has since been chosen as the new president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in Nitin Nabin’s new team. This, in turn, has given rise to speculation that a carefully considered plan may already be in place for his relocation from the constituency in the days ahead.Since 2014, Modi has continuously contested the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi alone. In 2014, Modi won by a margin of 3,71,784 votes; in the 2019 elections, his victory margin rose to 4,79,505 votes. But in the last Lok Sabha elections of 2024, his victory margin was very modest, only 1,52,513 votes. Perhaps this was the initial reason why the emotional attachment to Banaras is fading from PM Modi’s mind and he may want to return to the safer home-turf seat. PM Modi is also well aware that Varanasi may have to bear the brunt of the internal tussles within the UP BJP. Therefore, PM Modi’s series of visits to Vadodara over the past six months is being viewed in this very context. It may be recalled that on his 8 September visit to Vadodara, PM Modi inaugurated development projects worth more than ₹35,000 crore. On the same day, Modi inaugurated the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor from Vadodara, while the foundation stones were also laid for two sections of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway. Several other major projects for Vadodara also appear to be taking shape. It seems Modi has already chosen Vadodara wholeheartedly. Now, it is Vadodara’s turn to choose him.
Ambani’s Trump Connection
Sensing the unfavourable political winds blowing in Delhi, the astute Mukesh Ambani appears to have further strengthened his ties with the family of US President Donald Trump. This time, during the Ganesh festival, it was the Ambani family that dominated social media trends. During this year’s Ganeshotsav celebrations, the Ambani family invited US President Trump’s daughter, Tiffany Trump, and her Lebanese-American businessman husband, Michael Boulos, as special guests. Photographs of the two were all over social media. It may be recalled that Tiffany married Michael in 2022. Boulos has a sizable motorcycle business in Nigeria. In any case, Ambani’s business ties with Trump’s sons have existed for some time. While Trump has shown no hesitation in imposing a 100 percent tariff on India, the relationship between the US President’s family and one of India’s leading industrialists, Mukesh Ambani, appears to be growing stronger with each passing day. What makes the Ambani family’s relationship with Tiffany particularly significant is that her father-in-law, Massad Boulos, serves in the Trump administration as Senior Advisor for Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs. It may be recalled that Ambani’s business empire has expanded rapidly in several of these Gulf countries in recent years. Michael Boulos also has a special India connection. During his last visit to India, he travelled with the US Ambassador to a synagogue in Kochi, Kerala, in search of his family roots.
Fadnavis or Gadkari? Who is Sangh’s preference?
Although the Sangh has always described itself as a social and cultural organisation, one cannot entirely ignore its political conversations in the background, especially the subtle political signals hidden in the speeches of Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat. Just recently, on 17 September, on the occasion of PM Modi’s birthday, during the ‘Yuva Dharma Sansad’ organised in Ujjain, Bhagwat’s remark pointed towards several political implications when he said: “Whoever has risen will also set; many people, in their arrogance, harbour the illusion that everything runs according to them and will continue to do so, but that is not the case.” In any case, the Sangh’s declared principle is against personality cults. On the one hand, there was a scramble among the entire BJP organisation and its workers to light lamps on the PM’s birthday; on the other, no major Sangh functionary sent a birthday greeting to Modi. It was stated that “public birthday greetings are prohibited in the Sangh.” However, it is said that this began on 11 September itself, when no birthday greeting came from the PM on Bhagwat’s birthday, whereas last year on the same day the PM had not only greeted the Sangh chief on his birthday but had also written articles in newspapers glorifying his personality and work. Later, those close to the PM said that this time the PM was very busy because of the BRICS summit. But it is said that after the GenZ agitation at Jantar Mantar, the Sangh’s attitude towards the BJP top leadership has changed considerably. Now the Sangh chief is travelling across the country and the world, establishing direct dialogue with GenZ and the youth. According to sources, the Sangh’s heartfelt desire is to install a pure Brahmin on the Delhi throne; at present, their strongest option is Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who comes from a Deshastha Brahmin family. The Sangh also has a major alternative in Nitin Gadkari. Gadkari too comes from a Brahmin family, but Fadnavis is said to enjoy the support of one of the country’s top industrialist houses; on that count, his position is considered slightly stronger in the race for the next PM. However, Gadkari’s acceptability and popularity among the common people is far higher than that of Fadnavis, a fact that the Sangh leadership also understands well.
Shinde demands the CM’s chair
Is it merely a coincidence that in the past one month, BJP strategist Amit Shah has already visited Mumbai about five times? Continuous political implications are being sought as to whether everything is running smoothly in the state’s coalition government. For quite some time now, it has been heard that ever since the number of MPs of state Deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s party Shiv Sena rose from 7 to 13 (after six MPs from the Uddhav faction broke away and joined him), he has been continuously putting pressure on Delhi that “in place of Fadnavis, the reins of the state should now be handed over to him.” It appears that to resolve this very matter, when Amit Shah was in Mumbai on 13 September, he held a half-hour closed-door meeting with Eknath Shinde at the guest house; thereafter both leaders left together in the same car towards the Asiatic Society. Clearly, some serious discussion must have taken place in the car as well regarding a stuck issue between the two leaders. Outside, it was stated that “the two leaders discussed the Maratha agitation.” If that was truly the case, then why was state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis not included in this entire conversation? This is something to think about. Eknath Shinde wants that “he should be given a free hand to run Maharashtra and Fadnavis should be made a minister in Delhi.” In terms of numbers among the NDA’s constituent parties in the Lok Sabha, Shinde’s party now stands second with 13 MPs. Chandrababu’s TDP remains in first place with the numerical strength of 16 MPs. With a count of 12 MPs, JD(U) is in third position.
Storm in Gujarat’s Saffron Politics
This is not the first time that such a storm has erupted in Gujarat’s saffron politics. The usually calm and composed Chief Minister of the state, Bhupendra Patel, appears to have developed differences with his own government’s Deputy CM, Harsh Sanghavi. Sanghavi, who at just 41 years of age has set new benchmarks of political success, is considered an extremely trusted person of Delhi’s number two. Sanghavi is a three-time MLA from Gujarat’s Majura Assembly constituency. On 16 September 2021, he was first inducted into the state government as Minister for Border Security and Prisons, and by 17 October 2025 he had become one of the youngest Deputy CMs in Bhupendra bhai Patel’s government. At present, he holds important portfolios ranging from Home, Law, Tourism, Civil Aviation, and MSME to Industry. He has started being spoken of as the future Chief Minister. In many ways, his conduct had begun to resemble that of a super CM of the state. Agitated by this, it is said that the CM arrived in Delhi with a thick file of complaints against his Deputy, met the PM, poured out his grievances before him, and said that “he is not being allowed to work with a free hand.” It is possible that in the coming days, Gujarat’s saffron politics may take a new turn.