BEIRUT — Syria’s governing Baath Party on Monday removed Vice President Farouk al-Shara from its top decision-making body, a shake-up that further sidelined the Syrian political insider who has ventured closest to publicly criticizing the government’s handling of the two-year uprising.

Mr. Shara, 74, a longtime associate and adviser of President Bashar al-Assad and his family, is no dissident. But he has kept a low profile since he made what in Syria’s tightly controlled political scene passed for controversial statements. Also potentially leading loyalists to view him as a threat was the fact that he was mentioned as a possible replacement for Mr. Assad in any transitional government.

“There is a clear policy to get him out from the Syrian political scene,” said a political analyst in Damascus, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for his safety. He added that Mr. Shara posed a political threat because “he has clean hands, is not corrupt and didn’t participate in the bloody crackdown.”

What was unclear was why such a move had come now, when the government had been projecting greater confidence after retaking some rebel-held territory. Government forces are newly hammering rebel strongholds in the strategic central city of Homs, prospects for a negotiated settlement seem remote, and the opposition is suffering from new turbulence.