Cabinet reshuffle set to take place on Sunday morning; big changes expected

The much-anticipated Union Cabinet reshuffle will take place on Sunday between 9 am and 11 am, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for the China to attend the BRICS summit, sources have told Moneycontrol.

About two dozen ministers could get affected in the shuffle, possibly the last such exercise before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Also read: Cabinet Reshuffle LIVE: Who will PM pick for Team 2019?

Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, Water Resources minister Uma Bharti, Skills Development Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may be removed from the Cabinet and given party responsibilities as part of a broader strategy leading up the 2019 polls.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who is also holding the defence portfolio, will likely hold only one of the two after the shuffle. It is widely speculated that Power minister Piyush Goyal could be elevated and given charge of one of these portfolios. Jaitley has been holding charge of the defence ministry since Manohar Parrikar was sent to Goa as Chief Minister earlier this year.

BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav also could be inducted into the Cabinet. Rajya Sabha MPs Bhupendra Yadav and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe could be the other new inductees to Modi’s council of ministers.

There is also speculation that the agriculture and fertilizer ministries might be merged in the new system, while railways, aviation, roads and shipping ministries could be integrated into a single transport ministry. Highways minister Nitin Gadkari could head this integrated transport ministry.

Suresh Prabhu, who offered to resign as the Railway Minister in light of recent derailments, may be moved to the environment ministry.

While four junior ministers - Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Sanjiv Kumar Balyan, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahendra Nath Pandey - had resigned on Friday ahead of the rejig, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya is also learnt to have resigned today. The party had asked them to quit.

Two cabinet ministers, Uma Bharti and Kalraj Mishra, have also offered to resign, said BJP sources amid speculations that there may be a few more exits.

The proposed Cabinet reshuffle will likely come alongside a series of gubernatorial appointments. Micro, small and medium enterprises minister Kalraj Mishra, who has crossed 75 years of age, Lalji Tandon and Vijay Kumar Malhotra could be appointed as governors.

There is speculation that a top Uttarakhand BJP leader will be inducted into the Cabinet. New allies like Janata Dal (United), will also get a representation in the new look cabinet. Among others, Purnia MP Santosh Kumar’s name is doing the rounds for a cabinet portfolio.

Many ministries too are expected to get new heads. After Venkaiah Naidu became the vice-president. the urban development portfolio went to rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar, while textile minister Smriti Irani is holding charge of the information and broadcasting ministry.