Ministerial reshuffle:Amit Shah to meet JK BJP core group today

Srinagar, Apr 23: National President Amit Shah is meeting the top leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir Bhartiya Janta Party, in Delhi tomorrow to finalize the names of party leaders who would be inducted and those who would be dropped from the council of ministers.
While state leaders were tight-lipped about the meeting, top sources in the BJP said that Deputy Chief Minister, Nirmal Singh, State president Sat Sharma, general secretary Ashok Koul reached Delhi on Monday to meet the party president and other top party functionless.
“Yes top leaders of the BJP from the Jammu and Kashmir reached here and are scheduled to meet BJP President Amit Shah, party’s general secretary in charge of J&K Ram Madhav, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh and Avinash Rai Khanna tomorrow,” sources in the BJP from Delhi said.
Sources said that Party President would discuss and finalize names for exclusion, inclusion, from the Council of Ministry. “If everything goes well, the reshuffle and oath taking ceremony for new faces would be carried out on 25 April,” sources claimed.
The reshuffle was necessitated after two BJP ministers Chandra Prakash Ganga and Lal Singh were forced to resign from the council of ministers following outrage over their presence in “pro-rapists” rally in Kathua district on March 1.
The rally was organized by Hindu EktaManch, to support the accused in rape and murder of 8-year-old nomad girl in Rasana village of Kathua in January this year.
BJP’s state general secretary, Ashok Koul when contacted confirmed from New Delhi that the state BJP leaders are meeting Party top brass. “The party leaders including, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, Party president Sat Sharma have already reached here and that more leaders will reach to meet party high command tomorrow,” Koul said over phone, however did not divulge the agenda of the meeting.
Sources said that the leaders will brief the party high command about the performance of the state BJP leaders and the prevailing situation of the state.
After two Cabinet ministers resignation, the BJP is left with eight ministers, five in Cabinet and three Ministers of State. Sajjad Gani Lone, who holds the charge of the Social Welfare Department, is also a minister from the BJP quota.
Meanwhile sources said that while two new faces are certain in place of Ganga and Singh, some more could be inducted as axe is likely to fall on few incumbent ministers.
“Speaker Kavinder Gupta, State Party president Sat Sharma is in race to become cabinet ministers and Minister of State Sunil Sharma may be elevated as cabinet minister,” sources claimed.
It is to mention here that the BJP National Vice President and Jammu and Kashmir affairs In-charge, Avinash Rai Khana had said that a high level meeting will be held to decide the reshuffle in the BJP quota.
Khana in reply to a question on the anti-party activities of two sacked ministers Chowdhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga, Khanna had said “Chander Prakash Ganga has not taken any rally. As far as the activities of Chowdhary Lal Singh are concerned the issue will be discussed in the meeting and action if needed will be initiated,”