Amid indications that he may not go for a major rejig and that seniormost ranks in government could be left undisturbed, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set the ball rolling on the long-awaited Cabinet reshuffle by calling on President Pratibha Patil this evening, the move finally underscoring the inevitability of the exercise.
A Wednesday schedule is being sounded out for the reshuffle but sources in Rashtrapati Bhawan said they had been informally told to be prepared for a ?situation? in which the shortest notice could be given.
?They discussed the Budget session, the price rise and economic situation and issues of national and international importance,? a Rashtrapati Bhawan spokesperson said after the 45-minute meeting between the Prime Minister and the President.
Government sources though hinted that the shake-up was unlikely to touch the top four ministers ? in other words, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P Chidambaram, external affairs minister S M Krishna and defence minister A K Antony would continue to hold the same portfolios. There was speculation that Krishna could be dropped while Mukherjee and Chidambaram could swap portfolios.
Sources also ruled out the possibility of Rahul Gandhi joining the government, saying that he had already conveyed that he was not ready for any administrative assignment at the moment.
To underscore the view that no major changes were likely, sources also pointed to a government directive issued week which has proposed the team for the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. It includes Mukherjee, Chidambaram, commerce minister Anand Sharma, surface transport minister Kamal Nath, civil aviation minister Praful Patel and planning commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Sources said that Kapil Sibal?s workload was likely to be lessened with the contention that he could be asked to give up HRD and Science and Technology ? the two portfolios he holds with telecom, that was given to him after DMK nominee A Raja quit following the spectrum scandal.
AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi is seen as a strong contender for the HRD portfolio while science and technology could go to one of middle-rung ministers holding independent charge.
Those in the list for a promotion include Salman Khursheed and Srikant Jena. The latter was in fact promised an elevation the last time itself but could not be accommodated because of various reasons.
Over the last few weeks, the Prime Minister has already had two rounds of meetings with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the reshuffle.