New Delhi:
Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Najma Heptullah and film-star-turned MP Hema Malini were on Thursday dropped from the BJP National Executive as party President Amit Shah reconstituted one of the top party panels inducting new entrants Suresh Prabhu and Birender Singh who are also ministers at the Centre.
Shah has retained all top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu as Members.
Ministers V K Singh, Rao Inderjeet Singh and Subramanian Swamy were included as Members in the 178-member National Executive that is likely to meet in the first week of April in Bengaluru.
Popular film singer Babul Supriyo, the rising star of BJP in West Bengal, has been made a special invitee while another film-star turned MP Kirron Kher has been retained in the same category.
While Rural Development Birender Singh had quit the Congress and joined BJP before the Haryana Assembly elections late last year, Inderjeet Singh, a minister in the Manmohan Singh government, had deserted Congress to join BJP Congress before the Lok Sabha elections. The former army chief had also joined the party before the Parliamentary polls.
In constituting the National Executive, Shah has named 111 members, including most of the union ministers and prominent party leaders in the states.
All state Chief Ministers, deputy Chief Ministers and those who had held these offices were among the 27 made Permanent Invitees and while 40 Special Invitees were inducted.
