New Delhi, July 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may reshuffle his cabinet of ministers this week. Ahead of the widely-expected cabinet expansion or reshuffle, many leaders have reached Delhi. In what is seen as another sign of PM Modi's cabinet expansion, President Ram Nath Kovind named Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot as Governor of Karnataka. No reshuffle has taken place since the government took over on May 30 in 2019. Cabinet Decision Augurs Well for Railways: PM Modi.

The Union Cabinet, which can have 81 members, currently has 53 ministers. This means 28 ministers can be inducted. According to reports, Congress turncoat Jyotiraditya Scindia has arrived in Delhi. Scindia's revolt against Congress helped the Bahratiya Janata Party (BJP) wrest power in Madhya Pradesh. His exit from the Congress, along with nearly two dozen MLAs, resulted in collapse of the Kamal Nath government last year. PM Modi Meets Shah, Nadda Amid Cabinet Reshuffle Buzz.

Apndal Dal lawmaker Anupriya Patel, who was a minister in the first Modi government but was ignored in the next, could get a berth in the likely cabinet expansion. Her party is an important ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh where assembly elections are due next year. Another contender is former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Sonowal gave up the Chief Minister's post in Assam for Himanta Biswa Sarma and may get rewarded in the cabinet reshuffle. Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi is one of the hopefuls. Sushil Modi, who had earlier served as Deputy Chief Minister in the Janata Dal (United)-BJP government in Bihar, was not inducted in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet this time.

Another leader from Bihar who may get accommodated is Pashupati Paras, brother of late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Paras led the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) coup in Bihar against Paswan's son Chirag Paswan. Two JD(U) leaders - RCP Singh and Lallan Singh - are expected to get cabinet berth.

Reports also suggest that leaders from Uttar Pradesh will be given priority in the cabinet expansion in view of the upcoming assembly elections. BJP leaders from the state Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Ramshankar Katheria and Varun Gandhi are already in Delhi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2021 01:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).