The first big reshuffle of Narendra Modi Cabinet 2.0 is likely tomorrow, capping weeks of speculation. The rejig that is tipped to be a “major shake-up” of the government is expected to make the government more representative ahead of 2022 when 5 states will go to polls, including the politically important Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
Though no official announcement was made about the leaders to be included in the Cabinet, several names have been doing the rounds as Cabinet probables in the past few days. Among them are BJP leaders Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Narayan Rane, all of whom arrived in the national capital on Tuesday, reports PTI
JD(U) leader RCP Singh and LJP‘s Pashupati Kumar Paras, who recently broke the LJP, are expected to represent the BJP’s allies in the government. Both reached Delhi from Bihar.
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Names of Bhupender Yadav, Anil Baluni, Sudhanshu Trivedi are doing the rounds while BJP MPs Sushil Modi, Ashwini Vaishnav and G V L Narasimha Rao are also being mentioned as probables.
A BJP leader said the reshuffle is expected to be a “big shake-up” with Modi addressing political challenges, including the assembly polls in five states early next year, and governance issues, the agency reports.
With BJP’s old allies Shiv Sena and Akali Dal severing ties with it, the party looks to boost partner strength with the reshuffle. Ramadas Athavale, a junior minister, is the only BJP ally in the government as of now. The inclusion of JD(U and LJP is part of that exercise. Another BJP ally All India Jharkhand Students Union may also get a berth, PTI quoted sources as saying.
The current strength of the Council of Ministers is 53, including Modi, and its number can go up to 81.