The Union council of ministers will be reshuffled on Wednesday with six to seven new faces likely to be inducted into the team. Minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel could be elevated to Cabinet rank.
It will be a “single-digit” expansion-cum-reshuffle and the next such exercise may be undertaken after the Budget Session of Parliament, which begins in the third week of February, insiders indicated. The swearing-in ceremony is to be held at 5 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Wednesday’s Cabinet reshuffle will be the first such exercise undertaken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after nearly 20 months of the UPA-II government. Before that, he held a number of meetings with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the leaders of the UPA allies.
Speculation about a Cabinet reshuffle-expansion became reality after Mrs Gandhi met the Prime Minister at his 7, Race Course Road residence for over two hours. The Congress chief was accompanied by her political secretary, Mr Ahmed Patel. Dr Singh gave the finishing touches to Wednesday’s exercise which Congress sources said would be a “moderate” affair.
The Cabinet reshuffle and reconstitution of the AICC are inter-connected. Mrs Gandhi, who is also UPA chairperson, was said to have discussed the Cabinet reshuffle issue with NCP chief Sharad Pawar about 10 days ago.
During the day, DMK leader in the Lok Sabha T.R. Baalu met the PM while Union ministers Virbhadra Singh and Kantilal Bhuria called on the Congress chief.
Mr Pawar, who has been holding three portfolios — agriculture, consumer affairs and food and public distribution — is likely to relinquish one ministry but not agriculture. In lieu of this, his party could get one more minister with Cabinet rank. Mr Praful Patel is currently MoS for civil aviation with independent charge.
The “big four” ministers — finance, home, defence and external affairs — may not be disturbed in the reshuffle, the first in the UPA government after it was re-elected in May 2009, they indicated.
The government’s focus will be seen in the reallocation of portfolios after the swearing-in. The Trinamul Congress’ Sudip Bandopadhyay is expected get a berth in the expansion while DMK sources said nobody from the party was to join the Cabinet on Wednesday.
The PM is under pressure to give a new look to his Cabinet, qualitatively and by inducting youth. Besides, UPA MPs from election-going states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are also pressing for Cabinet berths.