With an eye on Uttarakhand polls, ex-CM Tirath Singh Rawat to get Union MoS berth: Sources

In an astonishing turn of events, ex-Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat is likely to be accommodated as a Minister of State at the Centre, sources told Republic TV. On July 4, Pushkar Singh Dhami replaced Rawat as the CM owing to the fact that the Election Commission was unlikely to conduct a by-election owing to the COVID-19 situation. A sitting Lok Sabha MP from the Garhwal seat, Tirath Singh Rawat had less than three months to get elected to the state Assembly. 

Sources also indicated that BJP's chief spokesperson and media in-charge Anil Baluni will also be inducted into the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet. Speculation is rife that the Rajya Sabha MP can be allocated either the Information and Broadcasting or Environment portfolio. With ex-Uttarakhand CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank already in charge of the Education Ministry, it is perceived that more leaders will get representation in the Union Cabinet as Assembly elections in the state are just a few months away. In the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly election, the Harish Rawat-led Congress government lost power after BJP won 57 seats in the 70-member House. 

Cabinet expansion on cards

Earlier, sources told Republic TV that PM Modi will hold a crucial meet at his residence at 5 pm today amid murmurs of the Union Cabinet expansion which is likely to take place as early as Wednesday. Senior leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are slated to attend this meeting. On July 4, Shah and BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh reportedly confabulated with the PM for several hours regarding the Union Cabinet reshuffle. 

While the current strength of the Union Council of Ministers is 53 besides PM Modi, only 27 more Ministers can be inducted. If he goes ahead with the exercise, this will mark the first-ever Cabinet expansion exercise since the NDA government assumed power in May 2019. With RPI(A) president Ramdas Athawale being the only non-BJP Minister at the Centre, other BJP allies such as JD(U), Apna Dal and LJP are poised to get representation. For instance, Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel and Chirag Paswan's uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras are rumoured to get a Cabinet berth.

On the other hand, two members of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's JD(U) might also be accommodated in the Union Cabinet. BJP Rajya Sabha MPs Sushil Modi and Narayan Rane and prominent Matua leader Shantanu Thakur are also in the race. Besides this, PM Modi is likely to induct Sarbananda Sonowal who was replaced by Himanta Biswa Sarma as Assam CM and Jyotiraditya Scindia whose rebellion in Congress led to the formation of a BJP government in Madhya Pradesh.