The changes in the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday could be extensive, with at least a dozen new faces to be sworn in, although the BJP’s standoff with the Shiv Sena intensified late on Saturday.
Speculation continued on dropping of some Ministers or promotions from Minister of State rank to Cabinet, but a senior BJP functionary told The Hindu that “chances of such changes are marginal.”
Last-minute hurdles cropped up in the Shiv Sena’s representative’s induction after Union Minister Anant Geete’s scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not materialise.
Several probables have received phone calls for the oath-taking ceremony to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from 1.30 p.m. on Sunday. Many Ministers holding multiple portfolios may shed load, and if that happens, that would bring down the curtain on Mr. Modi’s experiment of keeping the council small by clustering related Ministries under a single Minister. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would lose the Defence portfolio to Manohar Parikkar, who resigned as Goa Chief Minister. Mr. Modi’s Council of Ministers has 44 members; in 2013, the then Manmohan Singh Cabinet had 77.
Also read:>All about Modi's cabinet expansion
On a day of fast-moving events, the BJP Parliamentary Board, in an early morning meeting, approved the nomination of Mr. Parrikar for a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Parrikar will file his nomination papers in Lucknow on Sunday. Soon after the Board meeting, Mr. Parrikar resigned as Chief Minister.
BJP vice-president Muktar Abbas Naqvi and general secretary J.P. Nadda are also in the reckoning.
Vijay Sampla, a first-time BJP MP from Hoshairpur in Punjab, Hansraj Ahir from Maharashtra, Ajay Tamta from Uttarakhand, Sudha Yadav from Haryana and Jayant Sinha, son of former Minister Yashwant Sinha, are almost certain to get a berth.
The TDP has named Y.S. Chowdary for induction into the Cabinet.
>Cabinet changes to balance NDAPrime Minister Narendra Modi will expand his council of ministers on Sunday; an exercise that is expected to make the Cabinet more representative socially, streamline work distribution, and balance power equations — both within the BJP and with allies. >Read More... |
>Anil Desai to be Sena nominee in Union CabinetThe BJP and the Shiv Sena on Saturday appeared to have resolved their differences with the latter deciding to nominate Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai to be included in the Union Cabinet when Prime Minister Narendra Modi reshuffles and expands his Ministry >Read More... |
>West Bengal MP Babul Supriyo likely to get Cabinet berthPopular Singer and Bharatiya Janata Party MP from West Bengal’s Asansol seat Babul Supriyo is likely to be inducted in Union Council of Ministers in the expansion of the Narendra Modi Cabinet. >Read More... |
>Prime Minister invites Ram Kripal Yadav for teaBJP Patliputra MP Ram Kripal Yadav has been invited to 7, Race Course Road for tea on Sunday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet expansion. >Read More... |
>Cabinet berth comes as a surprise to DattatreyaDestiny came calling on senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya, when he received a phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, informing him that he was being inducted into the Union Cabinet as part of its expansion >Read More... |
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