Mamata's rivals in Congress could benefit from Cabinet reshuffle

After the hasty exit of the Trinamool Congress from the UPA-II government, a Cabinet reshuffle is in the offing, likely to take place between tomorrow and September 28, where the government is likely to include 15 new faces in ministerial positions.

Congress party loyalists from West Bengal, like Deepa Dasmunshi and Pradeep Bhattacharya, are expected to be rewarded with ministerial posts in the reshuffle, CNN IBN reported.

Bhattacharya, who heads the Congress in West Bengal, is expected to be rewarded for weathering the relationship between Congress and TMC , while former minister Priyoranjan Dasmunshi’s wife, Deepa Dasmunshi, is also expected to be given the ministerial post for her sustained opposition to Mamata Banerjee in the state.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari and Rahul Gandhi’s aide Meenakshi Natarajan could also see themselves being elevated to the council of ministers.

Other names under include actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, Maharashtra Congress leaders Gurudas Kamat and Vilasrao Muthimmar and former diplomat and Minister Shashi Tharoor who was moved from the Cabinet in 2009, CNN-IBN reported.

Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Tariq Anwar is reportedly likely to replace counterpart Agatha Sangma.

The shift will reportedly take place since the minister’s father, presidential candidate PA Sangma, had left the party to contest against Pranab Mukherjee not heeding the party’s objections.

Reports also state that Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal are likely to be dropped from the government over the the CAG report in illegalities in the coal block allocations.