The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, called on the President, Ms Pratibha Patil, on Monday evening.

Though officially it has been described as a routine meeting, indications are that the meeting could be a precursor to a likely reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers later this week.

Vacant slots

The move aims at filling the vacant slots, including those created by the resignation of Mr A. Raja and Mr Shashi Tharoor, and with Mr Prithviraj Chavan moving to Maharashtra as Chief Minister.

Also, others including Mr Sharad Pawar and Mr Kapil Sibal, who are holding multiple portfolios, are likely to shed some of the ministries that they are handling.

Expectations are that the Prime Minister may utilise the opportunity to infuse fresh blood into the Union Cabinet.

Key portfolios

With the Congress wanting to hold on to key portfolios such as Finance, Home, Defence and External Affairs, there may not be any tinkering in these Ministries.

Multiple portfolios

Mr Pawar, who holds Agriculture, Food and Consumer Affairs Ministries, has earlier expressed his intention to shed some of his burden. Mr Sibal, who has HRD, Telecom and Science and Technology, too may shed Science and Technology, according to sources.

He is, however, unlikely to be moved from Telecom, which was given to him after Mr. Raja's resignation in the wake of 2G spectrum allocation scam.

In light of Mr A Raja's exit, there is also a possibility that a DMK representative could get a Cabinet berth.

The Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, had detailed deliberations with Dr Singh more than twice in the last week, apparently to plan out the reshuffle, which would be the first after the UPA came back to power in May 2009.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW