Cabinet reshuffle: Rajiv Pratap Rudy resigns, Suresh Prabhu likely on his way out

After a spate of train mishaps, railway minister Suresh Prabhu may well be on his way out. As talks of cabinet reshuffle gains momentum with the resignation of skills development minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and the appointment of Mahendra Nath Pandey , former minister of state in the HRD ministry, as the state president of BJP Uttar Pradesh, sources in the party say, it’s only matter of time till Prabhu is shown the door. [caption id="" align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of prime minsiter Narendra Modi with senior cabinet ministers. AFP[/caption] But he is not the only Cabinet minister who is likely to exit the Narendra Modi government. The Prime Minsiter’s Office recently finished its review of ministers’ performances. Based on the performances, some of the ministers will be told to go, sources at the party told Firspost. Party sources also revealed that several other BJP leaders have already submitted their resignation to the BJP president. Some of those names that have come to Firstpost’s notice include Giriraj Singh (Minister of Stae for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and Sanjeev Baliyan. However, the fate of Uma Bharati still hangs in balance, but chances are high that she might be told to quit as well. Cabinet reshuffle on Saturday? There have been clear indications of an upcoming cabinet reshuffle from sources in the government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. As Firspost had reported earlier, 2 September (Saturday) seems likely to be the day when a new cabinet is going to be announced. President Ram Nath Kovind embarks on a two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh on Friday and will be returning on Saturday while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be leaving for China on Sunday. Sources in the BJP said that a reshuffle may take place either on Saturday or sometime after the Prime Minister’s return from China and Myanmar. A cabinet reshuffle has been on the cards since Manohar Parrikar resigned as Defence Minister to become Chief Minister of Goa. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been holding additional charge of the Defence Ministry since then. Talk of a reshuffle gained ground after Jaitley on Thursday hinted that he would not continue to hold the Defence portfolio for long. “At least not for very long,” Jaitley said in response to questions on how long he would continue as Defence Minister. Besides Jaitley, three other union ministers are holding additional charges of different ministries. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani is holding additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry portfolio, while Rural Development Minister Narendra Tomar has additional charge of the Urban Development Ministry after Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu resigned from his ministerial responsibilities to take up the high office. Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan is holding additional charge of the Environment portfolio following the death of Anil Madhav Dave in May. A reshuffle has also been on the cards after the Janata Dal (United) faction of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and is all set to join the Union Cabinet. After the merger of two factions of the AIADMK — one led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and the other by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam — there has been talk of the party joining the NDA but the recent political developments in the state have delayed the move. Some election-bound states, including Congress-ruled Karnataka, could get greater representation in the council of ministers. Karnataka will go for assembly polls next year. The last cabinet reshuffle took place in July last year in which Modi inducted 19 new faces and elevated Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar to cabinet rank. Five junior ministers were also dropped. With inputs from IANS