After the separation of Shiv Sena and Akali Dal and the death of Ram Vilas Paswan, the number of cabinet ministers has come down to 21.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi can announce the expansion of his council of ministers this week. Currently, brainstorming and negotiations are going on at the top level of BJP. About one and a half dozen new ministers are likely to be inducted in the cabinet. Many ministers are already holding additional charges since alliance partners have walked out of NDA due to discord.
In the reshuffle, special attention will be given to the states where assembly elections are yet to happen. According to reports, PM Modi is going to hold an important meeting at his residence today i.e. on Tuesday. BJP Chief JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman as well as other top ministers can attend this meeting.
According to sources, a decision on the expansion of the Council of Ministers can be taken anytime within two-three days after July 7. Efforts will be made to strengthen the NDA by involving allies in the expansion. JDU will also be made a part of the Union Cabinet this time. Apart from this, AIADMK and Apna Dal can also get a chance. Representatives of remote states and union territories are also likely to be involved to strike a regional balance.
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Significantly, when the Modi government was formed, a total of 57 ministers were inducted in the cabinet. These included 24 cabinet, nine independent charge and 24 ministers of state. However, many of these ministers have more than one ministry. After the separation of Shiv Sena and Akali Dal and the death of Ram Vilas Paswan, the number of cabinet ministers has come down to 21. A minister of state also died. Thus, there are only 53 ministers at present, whereas according to the constitution the number of ministers can be up to 79. For the last one year, due to Coronavirus pandemic, the conditions for expansion of the cabinet could not be created, but now there is a preparation to increase the team.
Names in discussion
If sources are to be believed, those who can be included in the future reshuffle and expansion of the Council of Ministers are former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, Baijayant Panda, Rakesh Singh, Narayan Rane, Hina Gavit. The names of Sandhya Rai, Sunita Duggal, JDU leaders RCP Singh, Lalan Singh and Santosh Kumar etc. are mainly in the discussion.
Opportunity for allies
There is not even a single cabinet minister from the BJP allies in the Modi government. Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party is the only Minister of State. In such a situation, some other allies can also be given a place in the expansion.
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