Cabinet reshuffle likely on Saturday
NEW DELHI, June 23 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to effect the much-expected reshuffle of his Cabinet on Saturday, restricting it by and large to the Congress, save the re-induction of JMM leader Shibu Soren.
Final touches to the changes are still being given by Dr Singh in consultation with Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
The reshuffle is expected to be followed by a reorganisation of the Congress party at the AICC and state levels and appointment of Governors in a number of states.
There are indications that a few Ministers will be drafted for party work, while some Congress leaders will get a berth in the Ministry.
Among those expected to find an entry into the one-year-old government are former Kerala Chief Minister A K Anthony, party spokesperson Ambika Soni, Giridhar Gomang and Motilal Vora.
While Soren, who failed in his attempt at forming a stable government in Jharkhand after the recent Assembly polls, is expected to stage a comeback at the Centre, Dr Singh will be filling up the slot that fell vacant following the death of Sunil Dutt, who was holding the Sports and Youth Affairs portfolio in the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
Among those tipped for the Sports Ministry are Suresh Kalmadi and Gurudas Kamat, both from Maharashtra.
At present, both coal and sports portfolios are held by the Prime Minister.
Dr Singh is also expected to correct the regional imbalance arising from the fact that five states do not have representation in the government.
They are Kerala, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
Of these, Assembly elections are due in Kerala in May next year, along with Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
At least one Cabinet berth is expected to go to Kerala, where the Congress was washed out in the 14th Lok Sabha polls.
Besides Antony, the name of former state Home Minister Vyalar Ravi is also doing the rounds.
Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee (TNPCC) president G K Vasan also figures on the list of probables being mentioned in political circles.
Since the state already has as many as 12 ministers, it would be interesting to see at whose cost Vasan would find his way into the government.
At present, the UPA government has 65 ministers, 27 of Cabinet rank, 10 Ministers of State with independent charge and 28 MoS and as such Dr Singh can have as many as 16 more ministers without violating the existing ceiling on the size of the government.
The law restricts the size of the government at the Centre at 81, which is 15 per cent of the strength of the elected members of the Lok Sabha (543).
However, Dr Singh is likely to keep the strength of his Ministry much below the permissible limit.
The Prime Minister can easily accommodate two Ministers of State in the Petroleum and Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj Ministry being run by Mani Shankar Aiyar without any MoS.
The other claimants to ministerial berths from unrepresented states include Ajit Jogi and Moti Lal Vora (Chhattisgarh) and Anand Sharma (Himachal Pradesh).
The reshuffle may also have a few surprises in store in the form of induction of some young party MPs who have shown their potential by taking part in important debates in Parliament.