There are indications that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh might go in for reshuffling his team, besides inducting a few new faces before the ensuing session of Parliament, which is scheduled to begin in the last week of this month.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s telephonic call to LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan to greet him on his 64th birthday on Monday has also fuelled speculation that he could find a place in the Cabinet. However, sources close to Mr Paswan ruled out such a possibility.
There are also reports that RLD chief Ajit Singh could find a berth in the Cabinet with the Congress looking at expanding its base among the Jat community by co-opting smaller parties. Since the Opposition has been gunning for telecom minister A. Raja, the PM and the Congress leadership may take a call on his fate in consultation with DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, sources said.