Cabinet rejig expected today

* Probables include Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narayan Rane, Sonowal | Over 20 MPs ‘told’ to remain in Delhi for next 2-3 days

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 6

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet reshuffle, the first in his second term, is “expected” tomorrow. The National Capital is abuzz with political activity with several names of probables like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narayan Rane and Sarbananda Sonowal doing the rounds. Scindia, Rane and Sonowal reached here today.

In another development, Cabinet Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot was appointed as the Governor of Karnataka today. The surprise decision confirmed that the reshuffle will be an all-encompassing exercise, involving the needs of the Modi government and political considerations of the BJP.

There has been no official confirmation of new ministers who are likely to be inducted. However, sources claimed that preference would be given to “educational qualification and performance of MPs as grassroots leaders”.

Women, Dalits and members of the OBC community are also expected to be given preference during the reshuffle that follows a massive stock-taking exercise conducted by the PM in the past few days. More than 20 MPs are believed to have “received calls” to be present in Delhi for the next two or three days.

Ahead of the reshuffle, eight states today got new governors with President Ram Nath Kovind making four new appointments and transferring four others. Gehlot, who was BJP’s leader in the Rajya Sabha also, became the first minister to lose his berth.

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

States like Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Karnataka are expected to be given more representation.

Meanwhile, the sources said JD-U chief Nitish Kumar, who preferred to stay out of the Modi Cabinet in 2019, has demanded four berths — two Cabinet and two Ministers of State — for his party.

Amid the hustle and bustle, the meet of current Cabinet has been called at 11 am tomorrow. =========================================

Names doing the rounds

*From allies: JD (U)’s RCP Singh and Lallan Singh; Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel; and Pashupati Kumar Paras of the breakaway faction of the LJP

*Apart from Scindia, Rane, and Sonowal, former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Ashwani Vaishnav, BJP vice-president Baijayant Panda and West Bengal MPs Nisith Pramanik and Shantanu Thakur

*MP Bhupendra Yadav; UP leaders Rita Bahuguna and Zafar Islam; Uttarakhand MPs Anil Baluni and Ajay Bhat; Pratap Simha from Karnataka; Brijendra Singh from Haryana; and Meenakshi Lekhi from Delhi

*Lok Sabha MPs like Varun Gandhi, Kapil Patil, Preetam Munde and Heena Gavit

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New Governors

*Mizoram Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai will be new Goa Governor while Bandaru Dattatreya, the HP Governor, will now serve as the Governor of Haryana

*Satyadev Narayan Arya, Governor of Haryana, has been shifted to Tripura, and Ramesh Bais, Governor of Tripura, has been transferred to Jharkhand

*Andhra BJP leader Hari Babu Kambhampati will be the Governor of Mizoram, former Gujarat Minister Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel new MP Governor and former Goa BJP chief Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar is the HP Governor