With most ministers juggling dual portfolios at the Centre, talks of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle is gaining momentum in United Progressive Alliance circles.
The rejig may take place before the assembly election results for Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The coalition government of the Congress and the National Conference in Kashmir is set for a massive cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday. According to sources, all NC ministers, advisors and heads of various boards have submitted their resignations to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, to allow him a free hand in the reshuffle.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Sunday said it would not nominate any party representative to the Union ministry to fill vacancies in case of a Cabinet reshuffle.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar met senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, fueling speculation about a leadership change in the state. The meeting occurs amid reports of Shivakumar pressing for the chief minister's post.
Punjab cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal was told he is left with only NRI Affairs portfolio as the administrative reforms department he was holding for the past nearly 21 months did not exist, according to a government notification.
'The rescue of 17 children represents exemplary police action that merits considerable appreciation.' 'However, this encounter was profoundly unfortunate because somebody has lost his life.'
During the meeting, Sonia and Dr Singh have been deliberating upon induction of new faces in the Cabinet, dropping old ones, promotions from Minister of State rank to Cabinet.
'The BJP will win comfortably if the Congress and AAP fight separately -- though not with 162 seats.' 'But if they form an alliance, it will become a major problem for the BJP. That's precisely why this expansion is happening now.'
The Opposition on Sunday was unimpressed with the rejig, which saw the introduction of nine new faces and the elevation of four ministers to Cabinet rank.
As the Congress brass is gearing up for the Cabinet reshuffle after the current Parliament session, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought TC chief Mamata Banerjee's suggestions for her party's new nominee. Banerjee has conveyed to the PM and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that she has nominated Sudip Banerjee for this slot.
This came amid the buzz of an imminent reshuffle in the Union Cabinet.
Sources said the belief was that by that time,Trinamool Congress chief Mamata could well be out of the cabinet as there is every likelihood that she could be the next chief minister of West Bengal. Along with this, the the fate of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam would also be clear, depending on whether they win the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The Congress may rejig its relationship with the DMK depending on the post-poll scenario in Tamil Nadu.
The much-talked about Cabinet reshuffle has been a play-it-safe exercise to carry on the governance without any major political problems till the 2014 elections to the Lok Sabha, notes B Raman.
Sources said the reshuffle will also aim at an image makeover for the party hit by school jobs scam probe.
The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government will have a total of 30 ministers, including 18 who had resigned earlier.
The entire Rajasthan Cabinet resigned on Tuesday to pave the way for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to carry out a reshuffle after the Congress government was hit by a series of controversies including the mysterious disappearance of nurse Bhanwari Devi.
Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel on Monday posted on social media platform X that the Union Cabinet has approved the women's reservation bill, but deleted the post within an hour.
He said his party was neither expecting nor planning to discuss the expansion
"Honest ministers were demoted and punished (in Cabinet reshuffle) while those who matter in elections are allotted berths in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet," he said. Advani said he was disappointed with the "spate of scams tumbling out of the Centre's closet".
The Chief Minister has been under intense pressure for some time now, over expansion and rejig of the Cabinet not taking place, to make way for the fresh faces, ahead of Assembly elections by April-May next year.
This is the second time in a month that Minister of State in PMO Narayanasamy has met the DMK patriarch, whose party is the largest ally of Congress with 18 Lok Sabha members after the exit of Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.
Antony will take over as Defence minister from Pranab Mukherjee who has been appointed the next External Affairs minister.
Fighting shy of affecting a complete overhaul of the union council of ministers where many ministers are holding dual charges, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi confined themselves to a mere change of portfolios before the monsoon session of Parliament begins on August 8. Renu Mittal reports.
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The meeting was held at the newly built convention centre at Pragati Maidan, which will host the G20 summit in September.
'This plan was never official. It was there secretly. It was by the high command.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narayan Rane, all of whom are being seen as probables for induction as ministers in the Modi government, arrived in the national capital on Tuesday amid indications that the Union Council of Ministers is likely to be expanded on Wednesday.
The Cabinet reshuffle has yielded two unexpected spinoffs - it has altered equations in the second rung of the BJP's leadership and has put ministers under pressure to pursue economic reform in their ministries.
'The BJP's top leadership realised that their cadres are not happy with them, so they changed the ministers and got in new faces.'
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he has recommended the name of his party spokesman Tariq Anwar for a ministerial post in the proposed Cabinet reshuffle at the Centre.
The theme of the reshuffle is to fulfill Modi's earlier promise of 'maximum governance, minimum government.' Some key ministries are likely to be merged.
The Union Cabinet held its first physical meeting in over a year on Wednesday. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the first meeting with the Council of Ministers virtually after the Union Cabinet reshuffle on July 7.
All those in the Union council of ministers with two portfolios are likely to lose at least one and major administrative changes are expected in a Cabinet reshuffle due on October 28 or 29 on the return of President Pranab Mukherjee from Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal.
The Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday left the Opposition unimpressed with the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it will not do any good to the country or to the ruling Congress and the promised infusion of young blood in the team has not been kept.
With speculations rife about a Union Cabinet reshuffle, the Congress has discussed the issue with Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam, the largest ally of the United Progressive Alliance after the exit of the Trinamool Congress. Union Minister V Narayansamy called on DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Tuesday, but the latter is learnt to have turned down the offer for the induction of his party MPs in the Manmohan Singh-led Cabinet, party sources said.
After Punjab, the party high command has shifted its focus to Rajasthan, where demands for Cabinet expansion and political appointments gained momentum after reports of resentment in the camp led by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who along with 18 MLAs had rebelled against the leadership of Gehlot last year.
