Modi to expand his Cabinet today, likely to induct 20 new faces: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to induct 20 new faces, including four of Cabinet rank, in the first expansion and reshuffle of his Council of Ministers on Sunday.Manohar Parrikar, who resigned as chief minister of Goa, is tipped to become the Defence Minister. Shiv Sena MP Suresh Prabhu is likely to replace Sadananda Gowda as the Railway Minister. Even as reports suggested that BJP general secretary J. P. Nadda would continue holding an important position within the party, he was later said to be in contention for the Health Ministry.Other notable faces could be Hansraj Ahir, who is likely to be given the Coal Ministry, senior BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore, a firsttime MP from Rajasthan.Ram Kripal Yadav, a former RJD leader who contested on a BJP ticket from Patna, is expected to find a place in the Union Cabinet. Giriraj Singh, a former minister in the Nitish Kumar government, and Choudhary Birender Singh from Haryana too are tipped to be in Modis team. BJP allies TDP and Shiv Sena have named Y. S. Chowdhary and Anil Desai for induction in the Modi Cabinet. Both the Rajya Sabha members are expected to be made ministers of state. Sena leader Suresh Prabhu is likely to be included despite his party expressing reservations about his candidature. Sanwar Lal Jat from Rajasthan and Jayant Sinha, the son of former union minister Yashwant Sinha, are also in the list of probable ministers. Anurag Thakur, the son of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, and singer Babul Supriyo, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from West Bengal, are also tipped for ministerial slots. Col. Sonaram Chaudhary (Rajasthan), Niranjan Jyoti (UP), Ramesh Bias (Chhattisgarh), Bandaru Dattatreya (Telangana), Bhola Singh (UP), Gajendrasingh Shekhawat (Rajasthan) and Ashwini Choubey (Bihar) too are in the race. No promotion is expected for any of the ministers of state. After the new inductions, several ministers holding more than one portfolio are expected to be relieved of additional work. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley holds charge of the Defence Ministry, Road Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari also holds charge of the Rural Development Ministry and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also has charge of the IT and Communications Ministry. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has the I&B Ministry as an additional charge, while Power Minister Piyush Goyal looks after Coal and Mines. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu also has Urban Development, while Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS in the Finance Ministry, has independent charge of Commerce.The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 1.30 pm. Before the ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a breakfast for the newcomers to his Council of Ministers. The current strength of the Council of Ministers is 45, with 23 of Cabinet rank, including the Prime Minister, and 22 ministers of state. Ten of the ministers of state hold independent charge. The new league: Expansion to see induction of close to 20 new faces AHIR HANSRAJ GANGARAM CONSTITUENCY: CHANDRAPUR He is famous for exposing the coal mining scam. Ahir frequently requested details of coal mining from the PMO but didnt succeed. Finally, he (along with BJP MP Prakash Javadekar) requested the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for an inquiry. Based on this, the CVC ordered a CBI inquiry. GIRIRAJ SINGH CONSTITUENCY: NAWADA Singh served the Cabinet of Bihar as co-operative minister from 2005-2010 & Animal Husbandry minister from 2010 to 2013. He was among the 11 BJP ministers who were dismissed by Nitish Kumar after the JD(U)-BJP alliance breakup. JAYANT SINHA CONSTITUENCY: HAZARIBAGH In May 2014, he was elected to the Lok Sabha. Sinha has over 25 years of experience as an investor and strategy consultant. He is a member of two important parliamentary committees. MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI RAJYA SABHA MEMBER FROM UTTAR PRADESH He is BJPs vice-president and its most prominent Muslim leader. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1998 from Rampur and appointed Minister of State for I&B. He is likely to get MoS Independent charge. MANOHAR PARRIKAR He is a member of BJP and the first Chief Minister of Goa from the party. He is widely regarded as Mr.Clean, which is very rare in politics. Parrikar is likely to be handed over the defence ministry. CH.BIRENDER SINGH A powerful leader from Haryana. He has been a longtime aspirant to the post of Chief Minister of Haryana. After being associated with the Indian National Congress for over 42 years, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 16, 2014 in a political rally organised in Jind. RAM KRIPALYADAV CONSTITUENCY: PATLIPUTRA He represented the Patna constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha by defeating C.P. Thakur of the BJP. He did not contest the 15th general elections in 2009 as the RJD chief Lalu Prasad himself contested from that constituency. He joined the BJP in March 2014. RAJIV PRATAP RUDY CONSTITUENCY: SARAN He is a general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party. He also holds a commercial pilots licence. He was elected to Rajya Sabha from Bihar in 2010. He defeated former chief minister of Bihar Rabri Devi in 2014 General Elections. He is likely to get MoS Independent charge. SANWAR LAL JAT CONSTITUENCY: AJMER A former Cabinet minister. He held portfolios of irrigation, Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana, PHED, CAD, Ground Water Dev. He won election to Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from Nasirabad in Ajmer district. He is a senior leader of state Bharatiya Janata Party. RAJYAVARDHAN SINGH RATHORE CONSTITUENCY: JAIPUR RURAL An Indian shooter and politician, who rose to fame after winning the Silver Medal in Mens Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2013 after taking voluntary retirement from the Indian Army. He was elected as an MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Y.S CHAUDHARY RAJYA SABHA MEMBER FROM ANDHRA The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader was elected unopposed and unanimously as a Rajya Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh in June 2010. SURESH PRABHU He was, at various times during Vajpayee Governments of 1998 to 2004, Industry Minister, Minister of Environment and Forests, Minister of Fertilisers & Chemicals, Power, Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises. He is likely to get Railways.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 04:14:02 +0000
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