NEW DELHI, 19 June 2005 — An expansion and reshuffle of the Union Cabinet is likely to take place next week, possibly on Thursday (June 23).
The exercise could involve change of portfolios of some high-profile ministers holding crucial departments.
Either A.K. Antony or Vayalar Ravi from Kerala and JMM supremo Shibu Soren were likely to be inducted into the 13-month old United progressive Alliance (UPA) government-led by Manmohan Singh.
The names of new faces including G.K. Vasan, Anand Sharma, Pawan Kumar Bansal, Chandra Sekhar Sahu and M. Ramadass from Pondicherry are also doing rounds for inclusion. The core group of the UPA met yesterday evening to discuss the issue, sources said. Few Congress party ministers are also likely to be dropped from the Cabinet and will be entrusted with the party work, the sources added.
Meanwhile, Union Fertilizer Minister and Lok Janshakti Party President Ram Vilas Paswan has predicted that the eastern state of Bihar would not have a hung assembly after the forthcoming assembly elections.
“There will be no hung assembly this time”, he told Arab News here.
Paswan said his party will not have any arrangement with the Janata Dal-United also, as long as it remained part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA).
Paswan expressed hope that a secular non-RJD, non NDA government will be formed in Bihar after the assembly polls. He however, declined to comment on who will led the next government in the state, but said that RJD, NDA will bite the dust this time.
