NEW DELHI, June 29: Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh is set to swap portfolios with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in a cabinet shake-up due to be announced on Monday, media reports said Saturday.

The Press Trust of India (PTI), quoting unidentified sources after a meeting of India’s ruling and coalition party members here, said the move would be among a number to be announced by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Sinha has been under a cloud with the ruling BJP members, who have criticized him for failing to sell economic reforms to the electorate.

Saturday’s meeting at Vajpayee’s residence was aimed at giving finishing touches to the long-awaited cabinet reshuffle.

Earlier on Saturday, the president of the BJP, Jana Krishnamurthy, resigned ahead of his speculated induction into the Vajpayee cabinet.

He is likely to be replaced by Venkaiah Naidu, the minister for rural development, reports said.

The cabinet reshuffle had recently become more urgent as one minister has resigned and another has become the speaker of the lower house of parliament.

Analysts said a decision to move Jaswant Singh, seen as more effective than Sinha, to the finance ministry would underscore a new focus on domestic economic reforms after an easing in a military standoff with Pakistan.

“Sinha swapping places with Jaswant Singh is absolutely sure,” the senior party source said. Vajpayee has been under pressure to revitalize his 20-party coalition government after a string of electoral setbacks for the BJP in state polls earlier this year.

Many BJP members blamed Sinha for those setbacks, accusing him of failing to revive growth and of introducing policies which alienated the middle classes, the BJP’s core constituency. But the reshuffle was delayed due to the military standoff with Pakistan.

Analysts said the planned reshuffle indicated that for now at least the focus was shifting to driving through economic reforms.—AFP/Reuters