The Union Council of Ministers is likely to be expanded on Sunday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to induct at least six new ministers, including Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Indicating this, Parrikar, who is tipped to be the Defence Minister, said on Thursday that BJP chief Amit Shah asked him to take up an assignment at the Centre, if offered, and that he was willing to shoulder the responsibility.
Sources said there could be six to 11 new faces in the government. Among the other names doing the rounds are that of BJP veteran leader Yashwant Sinha’s son Jayant Sinha and Maharashtra MP Hansraj Ahir.
While the BJP and Shiv Sena are yet to finalise an alliance in Maharashtra, Sena sources confirmed that the party has been asked to send two names for induction into the Union Cabinet. Shah is reported to have spoken to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray in this connection. Amid speculation that Sena leader Suresh Prabhu, who was the power minister in the previous NDA government, may be inducted, Thackeray’s close aide and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai, and Aurangabad MP Chandrakant Khaire are also reported to be frontrunners.
The BJP’s move is expected to set the ball rolling for the Shiv Sena’s support to the minority BJP government in Maharashtra, ahead of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s trust vote next week.
According to a PTI report from Panaji, Parrikar, who met Modi and Shah in the national capital on Wednesday, said,
“Party president Amit Shah spoke to me in the morning and asked me to accept any assignment that would be given by the Prime Minister… The party would not have asked me (to accept the offer) if they (top BJP leaders) had not interacted with the Prime Minister.”
Parrikar said while he did not feel comfortable about shifting to Delhi, he would take up the responsibility “if the nation requires” his services. “I want to give proper information as far as joining the Cabinet is concerned. It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister. However, I would like to inform that the party has indicated to me that if such assignment comes, you should accept it,” he said. He said if any offer had to come, it would have to be before November 9.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister’s visit to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, to attend a Gurbani recital to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, also triggered speculation that it was in the context of a possible reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers. Although the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) maintained that the visit was purely for the Gurbani programme, sources said the PM, President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari had a “pull aside meeting”.
While BJP leaders did not officially comment on the possible Cabinet expansion, continued…
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