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The prime minister's residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, was the centre of action on Wednesday as top BJP leaders and probable ministers thronged the place ahead of the first major reshuffle of the Narendra Modi government after he assumed charge for a second term in 2019. The reshuffle is expected at 6 pm at Rashtrapati Bhawan. It is learnt that 43 leaders will take oath as Union ministers on Wednesday.
The ministers to-be who are at PM's residence include Congress-turned-BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, MoS Finance Anurag Thakur, Varun Gandhi, Meenakshi Lekhi, Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel, Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan Bhupender Yadav, Uttarakhand lawmaker Ajay Bhatt, Karnataka leader Shobha Karandlaje, Sirsa MP Sunita Duggal, Bhiwandi MP Kapil Patil, Beed MP Pritam Munde, and West Bengal MP Shantanu Thakur.
Besides these leaders, Maharashtra’s former chief minister Narayan Rane, G. Kishan Reddy, JD(U)'s RCP Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Parshottam Rupala, and BJP President J.P. Nadda are also at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.
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Interestingly, Pashupati Kumar Paras, brother of late Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, has also arrived at the PM's residence. Paras has been embroiled in family drama with Paswan's son Chirag Paswan. Chirag Paswan on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi that nobody from the breakaway faction should be taken in the ministry from the LJP quota otherwise they would go to court. He said Paras or somebody else siding with him can be made a minister as an Independent, but not as a member of the LJP with which they are no longer associated.
According to media reports, India will have its "youngest ever" cabinet after Wednesday's reshuffle with a record representation from OBCs, SCs and STs, and more women representation. Reports say 27 ministers from OBCs, 12 from SC and eight from ST communities will be inducted into the Council of Ministers.
The Modi government currently has 53 ministers and its strength can go up to 81.
