Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s first Cabinet reshuffle since his re-election will be announced at 6 pm on Wednesday, 7 July.
43 leaders are expected to be sworn-in as Union Ministers in the Union Cabinet expansion, news agency ANI reported.
Ahead of the announcement, Union Ministers Dr Harsh Vardhan, Santosh Gangwar, Ramesh Pokhriyal, Sarbananda Gowda, and Thawarchand Gehlot tendered their resignations.
MoS Babul Supriyo, Debasree Chaudhuri, Rattan Lal Kataria, Sanjay Dhotre, Thawarchand Gehlot, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, and Ashwini Chaubey also resigned from their posts.
Meanwhile, PM Modi held a meeting at his residence on Wednesday, with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda. Several other leaders like, Jyoraditya Scindia, Nisith Pramanik , JDU'S RCP Singh, and LJP's Pashupati Paras were in the capital to attend the meeting. BJP leaders Meenakshi Lekhi, Sarbananda Sonowal, Purshottam Rupala and Anurag Thakur were also present.
The reshuffle will have the youngest Cabinet in India’s history, reported NDTV quoting government sources.
The Cabinet currently has 53 members, but can have up to 81. The reshuffle is expected to have more women ministers, while those with administrative experience will reportedly be given special representation.
"Overall two dozen OBCs (Other Backward Class) will be represented. The plan is to involve the smaller communities,” reported NDTV.
As per government sources, the new Cabinet will include “PhD’s, MBAs, post-graduates and professionals.”
Prospective Names for New Cabinet
A few of the prominent names doing the rounds are those of former Congress leader and now BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
JDU leaders RCP Singh, Dileshwar Kamath, Chandreshwar Prasad Chandravanshi, Ram Nath Thakur, and Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel are also expected to be inducted into the Cabinet.
From the BJP, Narayan Rane, Ajay Bhatt, Meenakshi Lekhi, Anurag Thakur, Bhupendra Yadav, and Shobha Karandlaje are some of the leaders who are speculated to be joining the new Cabinet.
Governor Appointments Add to Cabinet Reshuffle Buzz
A day before the Cabinet reshuffle, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot as the governor of Karnataka, creating a vacancy for the ministerial post and adding to the buzz around the Cabinet reshuffle.
Additionally, Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel was appointed as the governor of Madhya Pradesh, while Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatraya was transferred and appointed governor of Haryana.
The other appointments made by the President include Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as governor of Himachal Pradesh, PS Sreedharan Pillai as governor of Goa (transferred from Mizoram), Satyadev Narayan Arya as governor of Tripura (transferred from Haryana), Ramesh Bais as governor of Jharkhand (transferred from Tripura), and Hari Babu Kambhampati as governor of Mizoram.
Ahead of Cabinet Expansion, Centre Creates New 'Ministry of Cooperation'
The PM Narendra Modi government has created a new Ministry of Cooperation, for the purpose of realising the vision of 'sahkar se samriddhi' (prosperity from cooperation), the government said in a press release on Tuesday.
This ministry will provide separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening cooperative movement in the country.
"It will help deepen co-operatives as a true people-based movement reaching upto the grassroots," the press release on Tuesday said, adding that in India, a cooperative-based economic development model is very relevant.
(With inputs from NDTV)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)