In the first reshuffle since the NDA assumed power after the elections in May, some Ministers are likely to be dropped and some Ministers of State are expected to be elevated to Cabinet rank in the exercise, BJP sources told The Hindu.
Mr. Modi will also have to balance the caste and regional equations in the Council as the feedback in the first months has indicated resentment among under-represented social groups.
Besides Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Suresh Prabhu of the Shiv Sena and Ramdas Athavale of the RPI (A) are almost certain to be inducted. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the BJP’s prominent Muslim face and its youth wing president, Anurag Thakur, are also among the probable entrants.
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There are currently 44 ministers, 22 of them with Cabinet rank. Several of them have multiple ministries like Mr. Arun Jaitley who holds both Finance and Defence portfolios.