Ministerial probables meet Modi ahead of Union Cabinet reshuffle this evening

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 7

Ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle later on Wednesday, those who are expected to be sworn in are currently meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence.

Those who were seen going inside 7 Lok Kalyan Marg included the most discussed “probables”, like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narayan Rane and Sarbananda Sonowal.

Sources say Anurag Thakur, who is also present at meeting, along with Purushottam Rupala, is likely to be promoted.

Maharashtra MP Heena Gavit, Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi and Kapil Patil are also present at the meeting with the PM in which Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and party president JP Nadda are also present.

It is after long that the national capital is witnessing such hectic political activity with speculation about who all have made the cut in the first-ever reshuffle of the Narendra Modi 2.0 Cabinet.

The surprise decision of appointing Thawarchand Gehlot as the Karnataka Governor also re-confirmed that the reshuffle will be an all-encompassing exercise, involving the needs of the Modi government and the political considerations of the BJP.

There is no official confirmation of the names of all those who will be included in Modi’s new council, so far. Sources, however, say preference will be given to “administrative experience, qualifications and performance of MPs as grassroot leaders”.

“Women, Dalits, and members of the OBC community are expected to be given preference in the new council”, which follows a massive stock-taking exercise conducted by Modi in the past few days.

“There will be younger, educated faces. MPs from Dalit and OBC communities and women will be given more representation,” sources say. More than 20 MPs are believed to have “received the call to be present in Delhi in the next two-three days.”

Modi’s Cabinet has 53 ministers. It can have 81.

Ahead of the reshuffle, eight states got new governors with President Ram Nath Kovind making four new appointments and transferring four others. Social justice minister Thawarchand Gehlot, who was appointed the Governor of Karnataka, became the first minister to lose his berth. Many names, who may follow him, are doing the rounds.

Those in the know of developments say “talent will be rewarded and laggards removed” in the mid-term course correction into which a lot of planning and arithmetic has gone. The selections have been made considering the issues regarding governance during the Covid pandemic and imperatives of the upcoming state elections, including Uttar Pradesh, especially its western parts.

Meanwhile, sources say JD-U chief Nitish Kumar, who preferred to stay out of the Modi cabinet in 2019, is demanding four berths, two Cabinet and two ministers of state for his party keeping in mind the strength of his party in the Lok Sabha.

It also remains to be seen if leader of breakaway LJP Pashupati Paras is accommodated as Chirag Paswan has warned that he would contest his appointment in the court.

Apart from Thawarchand Gehlot, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Sadanand Gowda and Santosh Gangwar are expected to tender their resignation from the Cabinet.

Sources say 43 ministers, including 11 women and four ex-chief ministers, are expected to take oath.

The council is expected to see a record representation from the OBC community.

Likely candidates are: Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane, Bhupendra Yadav, Pashupati Paras (LJP), Anupriya Patel, Kapil Patil, Meenakshi Lekhi, Shobha Karandlaje, Rahul Kasava, Ashwani Vaishnav, Shantanu Thakur, Vinod Sonkar, Rajkumar Ranjan, BL Mishra, Hina Gavit, Ajay Bhatt, Preetam Munde, RCP Singh (JDU) and three others from the party.

The JD-U will be represented by one Cabinet Minister and three Ministers of State, say sources.