The Third expansion of PM Modi’s cabinet will take place tomorrow. As per news Agency ANI – a total of 9 Ministers will swear in tomorrow. As per ANI, two MPs from Bihar will take oaths as ministers tomorrow.
Cabinet Reshuffle – New Names
The Names that have been confirmed for the cabinet reshuffle are – Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, Shiv Pratap Shukla, Virendra Kumar, Ananth Hegde, Rajkumar Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Satyapal Singh and Alphons Kannanthanam.
Cabinet Reshuffle – Ministers who may have survived
It is also being projected that Uma Bharti might have avoided the axe this time but her ministry will be changed and will be under the direct watch of PM Modi. Looks like Sangh’s generosity saved her. Nirmala Sitharaman will retain her portfolio as well. It is being said that Prime Minister Modi and BJP President Amit Shah had a long discussion about the cabinet minister and Amit Shah also had a discussion with RSS Top leadership before finalizing the list. The Ministries that were discussed the most were Defense, Rail and Agriculture. Nitin Gadkari as per this Jagran report has denied taking up Railways. Defense might go to Narendra Singh Tomar. Also as per this Jagran report Nitin Gadkari has denied taking up Railways, so Manoj Sinha could be promoted as the Cabinet Minister for Railways. He is currently serving as the MoS for Railways.
Cabinet Reshuffle – Where do the Allies stand
Interestingly there is no clarity about JDU which was expected to be awarded at least 2 Ministries for adding Bihar to BJP’s list of achievements. As per news bugs, Nitish Kumar wasn’t very happy about the ministries offered to JDU. Similarly, there is no information about AIADMK either, which at this point of time is finalizing the merger process of the two factions and at the same time facing a tough challenge from Dinakaran faction and a resurgent DMK.
Cabinet Reshuffle – Those who resigned and the ones who will resign
There was a flurry of resignations in the run up to the cabinet reshuffle. Sanjeev Balyan, Bandaru Dattatreya, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Kalraj Mishra, Mahendra Nath Pandey and Faggan Singh Kulaste have already presented their resignations. It is expected that few more ministers will be putting in their papers tomorrow.
About the New Ministers:
Shiv Pratap Shukla, a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh who is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey, is the MP from Buxar, Bihar, He has previously served the Bihar cabinet for eight years.
Virendra Kumar, the Tikamgah (Madhya Pradesh) MP. He holds doctorate in Child Labour and has been elected to the Lok Sabha six times.
Anant Kumar Hegde, the Uttara Kannada MP has been a member of multiple Parliamentary Standing Committees including the likes of Finance, Home Affairs, Human Resource Development, Commerce, Agriculture and External Affairs.
Raj Kumar Singh, the MP from Arrah (Bihar) is a former IAS office who went on to become the Union Home Secretary. He is known for his contributions to schemes for police modernisation, prison modernisation, and laying down a framework for disaster management.
Hardeep Singh Puri, a former IFS officer, he is the President and Chairman of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) think tank, and was the Vice President of International Peace Institute, New York.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Jodhpur MP is a quite popular name in the social sphere, especially in the Q&A blogging site Quora. A farmer by profession, Mr. Shekhawat is also a basketball player.
Alphons Kannanthanam, a former IAS officer is best known for his stint as Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority, when he cleared encroachment in the national capital by removing around 15,000 illegal buildings.
Satya Pal Singh, the Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh) MP, he was the former Commissioner of Police of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. He holds a PhD in Naxalism and is a published author.
