Cabinet reshuffle likey today
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Agencies

New Delhi, July 11 2011: The much-awaited cabinet reshuffle may finally come on Tuesday, though till the time of going to press there was no official word either from prime minister Manmohan Singh's government or from the Congress.

The swearing-in is likely at 5 pm.

But even on this Rashtrapati Bhawan maintained complete silence.

What is confirmed is that the prime minister had four rounds of consultation on the reshuffle with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the last two having been held on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Sources said that MPs from Chhattisgarh, Goa and Manipur, which do not have any representation in the council of ministers, and a few more from Andhra Pradesh, may be included in the council.

Indications are that the cabinet ministers for finance, home, defence and external affairs will not be disturbed.

It seemed certain that Trinamool Congress's Dinesh Trivedi would be made a cabinet minister and given the railway portfolio.

His party leader Mamata Banerjee let it drop in Kolkata on Sunday that Trivedi would be the new railway minister.

Chief whip in Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandhopadhyay, will likely be a new entrant and made minister of state.

Two ministers who may have to trade their portfolios are Jairam Ramesh (now in environment and forests) and Sushil Kumar Shinde (power).

Shinde is tipped for the vice-president's post, which will fall vacant next year when the current incumbent, Hamid Ansari, completes his term.

Two-high profile ministers from the DMK, A Raja, who had held the telecom portfolio, and Dayanidhi Maran (textiles) have had to quit in disgrace.

There has been no word from president Pratibha Patil's office about Maran's resignation, submitted last week.

Another ministry still in the limbo is the corporate affairs from which Murli Deora had resigned with the expectation that his son, Milind Deora, would be made a minister of state.

Uttar Pradesh is likely to get more berths in the cabinet.

The Kurmi leader and minister of state for steel with independent charge, Beni Prasad Verma, may be promoted to cabinet rank.

Film star Raj Babbar, MP from Agra, could also be inducted.

Also likely to be promoted is Jyotiraditya Scindia, now minister of state for commerce and industry.

Gurudas Kamat, now minister of state for telecom, may be shifted out to another ministry given its independent charge.

Kapil Sibal, HRD minister also holding the IT and communication portfolio since Raja resigned, is likely to shed the HRD ministry which may go to Salman Khurshid, MP from Uttar Pradesh.

There was speculation that law minister Veerappa Moily could be made the HRD minister but the man himself nixed the possibility.

Kerala may see Muslim leaguer member E Ahmed get a cabinet berth.

Ruling political circles also spoke of the non-conventional energy minister, Farooq Abdullah, exchanging portfolio with chemicals and fertiliser minister M Alagiri.

The minister for small, medium and micro-enterprises minister, Veerbadra Singh, whose performance has raised questions, may stay in the council in view of the Assembly election in Himachal Pradesh next year.

Among others whose promotion was being talked about was the minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers, Srikant Jena.

He had been a cabinet minister in the United Front government in the mid-1990s.Among those who may have to exit is the minister for development of NE region, BK Handique, whose place may be taken by Pabansingh Ghatowar, MP from Dibrugarh in Assam.

Tribal affairs minister Kanti Lal Bhuria, the president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, may be asked to take up party work full time.

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