Junior minister for minority affairs George Kurian resigned from the Union council of ministers on Tuesday, as the BJP chose not to renominate him to the Rajya Sabha after his membership expired on June 21, fuelling speculation about an impending shuffle in the Narendra Modi government.

Party insiders said the proposed shuffle could extend beyond the Union council of ministers, with changes likely in some BJP-ruled states as the party begins preparations for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and key Assembly polls scheduled before it.

Amid mounting controversy over alleged irregularities in land deals linked to Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav and growing Opposition demands for his resignation, BJP insiders indicated that he could be among the leaders under review.

Minister of state for railways, Ravneet Singh Bittu, however, continues to hold office and has not resigned despite his Rajya Sabha term expiring on June 21. The BJP has not renominated him either. The law allows Bittu to remain minister for six months without being a Member of Parliament.

Sources said the party leadership may have different plans for Bittu, a prominent Sikh face from Punjab, with the state elections due next year. The BJP is believed to be considering a larger role for him as part of its efforts to expand its outreach among the Sikh community ahead of the polls. Bittu, a former Congress MP from Ludhiana, joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In Kurian’s case, now that the Kerala elections are over, party sources said he could be assigned organisational responsibilities. Kurian was the lone Christian representative in the Union council of ministers and was widely seen as a key figure in the BJP’s outreach to the Christian community in the southern state.

The resignation of Kurian is seen as the kick-start of preparations for the wider overhaul in the Union ministry as well as the party, directed to take forward the leadership’s move to induct more and more next-generation leaders for key roles.

Sources said the party leadership was also reassessing its experiment with relatively low-profile chief ministers in states such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In both states, the BJP had edged out senior leaders such as Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje Scindia to appoint Mohan Yadav and Bhajan Lal Sharma, respectively, after the 2023 Assembly elections.

Party sources said there was concern within sections of the BJP and the RSS over the performance of the two governments, which was seen as falling short of expectations. MP and Rajasthan go to the polls in 2028.

Amid growing Opposition demands for Mohan’s resignation, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP’s central leadership was orchestrating a campaign to discredit him as part of a broader planto replace several chief ministers ahead of key Assembly elections.

Speaking to reporters, Akhilesh claimed that the allegations against Mohan were politically motivated. “The BJP has hatched a conspiracy to defame Mohan Yadav. This is nothing new. He was involved in the real estate business earlier. Didn’t the BJP know this?” he asked.

The SP leader alleged that the BJP was preparing to replace the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and was using the controversy as a pretext. “These allegations are being made because the BJP is looking for a way to change three chief ministers. They want to remove the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and after that they will target the Uttar Pradesh chief minister,” he said.

The SP chief asserted that his party would win the Uttar Pradesh elections due next year and bring an end to Yogi Adityanath’s tenure.