A Union Cabinet reshuffle seems imminent with Minister for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Faggan Singh Kulaste offering to quit.
Several other resignations like those of Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti are in the pipeline.
The newly appointed chief of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Mahendra Pandey, has also offered to step down.
Ms. Bharti has been asked to quit ostensibly on the grounds of failing health.
Birendra Singh and Sudarshan Bhagat are also on the list of those asked to resign. This points to a largescale rejig, with the reshuffle likely to take place on Saturday.
Those expected to be sworn is as Ministers include BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, and Karnataka leaders Prahlad Joshi and Suresh Angadi.
Janata Dal (United) MPs R.C.P. Singh and Santosh Kumar are expected to join the government.
Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha and AIADMK MP M. Thambidurai met BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday but there appears to be no confirmation about whether or not the AIADMK will join the government.
Through the day, Mr. Shah met several Ministers, some of whom figure in the list of those being asked to resign.
Mr. Shah later met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s official 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence. The resignations of Ministers were reportedly handed over to Mr. Shah.
Sources say that Mr. Modi may club the infrastructure Ministries together and also move some party seniors to Raj Bhavans.
At least seven gubernatorial positions are vacant at the moment. Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is tipped to get charge of the Railway Ministry as current Minister Suresh Prabhu had offered to step down.
President Ramnath Kovind is to visit Tirupati on Friday and Prime Minister Modi will leave for China for the BRICS meet on Sunday morning. The cabinet reshuffle therefore could take place on Saturday.
