Cabinet reshuffle: Twenty ministers may be sworn in
10 Nov 2014 5:05 AM IST
The decision was taken on Saturday in the BJP’s Parliamentary Board meeting and the matter was later conveyed to the prime minister as he was in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi and unable to attend the crucial meet on who to induct and who not to.
Already Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar has resigned reportedly to take charge as the defense minister and Laxmikant Parsekar was made the new CM of the state on Saturday. Parrikar, who will take the Rajya Sabha route to join the Cabinet, said he will contest the Upper House elections from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP won 71 seats in the general elections.
The list of new ministers have been chosen keeping the sentiments of regional parties in mind as well as their performances and ‘intention’ to work hard for the country. It was learnt that all the new faces was personally handpicked by Modi himself, who are young and with a basic knowledge of IT.
Soon after the induction of new faces, Modi will personally meet all of them over ‘tea and snacks’. He is expected to deliver a brief speech about their role and responsibilities. All the new ministers will be asked to submit their performance report within 100 days, which will be assessed by Modi himself.
Sources said Shiv Sena and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are set to get more ministers, while Olympic Silver medalist Rajyawardhan Rathore and Rajiv Pratap Rudy might get ministerial posts. Rathore won from Rajasthan in the national election. The state gave all 25 parliamentary seats to the BJP, but presently it has only one central minister.
The others who could make a way to the Cabinet are Giriraj Singh and Ramkirpal Yadav of Bihar. Both the BJP lawmakers represent powerful Bihar vote-banks. Industrialist-turned-politician and TDP Rajya Sabha member Yalamanchili Satyanarayana alias ‘Sujana’ Chowdary and BJP MP from Secunderabad Bandaru Dattatreya are confirmed to be inducted in the Cabinet. Apart from Dattatreya, the names of Jayant Sinha, son of former union minister Yashwant Sinha, Anurag Thakur from Himachal Pradesh, Jat leader from Haryana Birender Singh, singer Babul Supriyo from West Bengal, Bhumiar leader from Bihar Giriraj Singh, Col Sonaram Chaudhary and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, both of Rajasthan, and Hansraj Ahir from Maharashtra and Punjab BJP’s Vijay Sampla are also reportedly doing rounds.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP spokesman for a long time and one of the party’s most prominent Muslim faces, could also be made a minister, sources said. Apart from new inductions, Modi is also expected to reshuffle portfolios, promote some ministers and could even axe a few based on a performance assessment including union railways minister Sadananda Gowda.
There are reports that Modi is not happy with the former Karnataka chief minister’s work and he might be downgraded to a lower ministry. Shiv Sena MP, Suresh Prabhu, might get the portfolio of railway ministry. Sources said Shiv Sena is apparently unhappy with the BJP’s plans to induct former union minister and technocrat Suresh Prabhu into the union Cabinet. They are rather pitching for Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai to be included in the Cabinet.
Party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said it was Modi’s prerogative to decide whom he wished to induct into his Cabinet. ‘The BJP had requested for Suresh Prabhu and undoubtedly he is highly experienced,’ he added.
There are currently 22 Cabinet members and same number of ministers of state, including 10 with independent charge. For the first time, Modi has sought a written communication from alliance partners on their clear choice of nominees for the Cabinet berth in a ‘prescribed format’.
Already Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar has resigned reportedly to take charge as the defense minister and Laxmikant Parsekar was made the new CM of the state on Saturday. Parrikar, who will take the Rajya Sabha route to join the Cabinet, said he will contest the Upper House elections from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP won 71 seats in the general elections.
The list of new ministers have been chosen keeping the sentiments of regional parties in mind as well as their performances and ‘intention’ to work hard for the country. It was learnt that all the new faces was personally handpicked by Modi himself, who are young and with a basic knowledge of IT.
Soon after the induction of new faces, Modi will personally meet all of them over ‘tea and snacks’. He is expected to deliver a brief speech about their role and responsibilities. All the new ministers will be asked to submit their performance report within 100 days, which will be assessed by Modi himself.
Sources said Shiv Sena and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are set to get more ministers, while Olympic Silver medalist Rajyawardhan Rathore and Rajiv Pratap Rudy might get ministerial posts. Rathore won from Rajasthan in the national election. The state gave all 25 parliamentary seats to the BJP, but presently it has only one central minister.
The others who could make a way to the Cabinet are Giriraj Singh and Ramkirpal Yadav of Bihar. Both the BJP lawmakers represent powerful Bihar vote-banks. Industrialist-turned-politician and TDP Rajya Sabha member Yalamanchili Satyanarayana alias ‘Sujana’ Chowdary and BJP MP from Secunderabad Bandaru Dattatreya are confirmed to be inducted in the Cabinet. Apart from Dattatreya, the names of Jayant Sinha, son of former union minister Yashwant Sinha, Anurag Thakur from Himachal Pradesh, Jat leader from Haryana Birender Singh, singer Babul Supriyo from West Bengal, Bhumiar leader from Bihar Giriraj Singh, Col Sonaram Chaudhary and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, both of Rajasthan, and Hansraj Ahir from Maharashtra and Punjab BJP’s Vijay Sampla are also reportedly doing rounds.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP spokesman for a long time and one of the party’s most prominent Muslim faces, could also be made a minister, sources said. Apart from new inductions, Modi is also expected to reshuffle portfolios, promote some ministers and could even axe a few based on a performance assessment including union railways minister Sadananda Gowda.
There are reports that Modi is not happy with the former Karnataka chief minister’s work and he might be downgraded to a lower ministry. Shiv Sena MP, Suresh Prabhu, might get the portfolio of railway ministry. Sources said Shiv Sena is apparently unhappy with the BJP’s plans to induct former union minister and technocrat Suresh Prabhu into the union Cabinet. They are rather pitching for Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai to be included in the Cabinet.
Party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said it was Modi’s prerogative to decide whom he wished to induct into his Cabinet. ‘The BJP had requested for Suresh Prabhu and undoubtedly he is highly experienced,’ he added.
There are currently 22 Cabinet members and same number of ministers of state, including 10 with independent charge. For the first time, Modi has sought a written communication from alliance partners on their clear choice of nominees for the Cabinet berth in a ‘prescribed format’.
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