Union Cabinet reshuffle to take place at 6 pm today

New Delhi: As many as 43 leaders will take oath as Union ministers in the the first major reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will take place at 6 pm on Wednesday, reported news agency ANI.

Ahead of the expansion, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' and labour minister Santosh Gangwar were reported to have resigned from their posts.

Gangwar said he is not aware of what his new role in the government will be, according to PTI.

This comes after a number of probable leaders met the PM at his residence on Wednesday.

Leaders who met Modi included Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda, Narayan Rane, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ajay Bhatt, Bhupender Yadav, Shobha Karandlaje, Pritam Munde, Anurag Thakur and Meenakshi Lekhi, LJP's Pashupati Paras and Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel.

The new cabinet is likely to see record induction of members from OBC and SC communities.

Early reports said that PM Modi is all set "to induct record representation of OBCs and SCs in the new council of ministers".

Thet said the council of ministers may see 15 to 20 members from SC and OBC communities "and members from non-dominant smaller communities are also likely to find a place in the cabinet."

Representation of women and youth is also likely to increase.

Several positions in the Cabinet are vacant due to the exit of Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal from the NDA, and the demise of Ramvilas Paswan of Jan Lokshakti Party.

There are speculations of several senior leaders like former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia to be accommodated. Recently, Uttarakhand former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat met the PM as well.

It is also understood that important NDA ally Janta Dal-United is also expected to be provided a berth in the Cabinet.

With UP elections in the offing, Apna Dal, too, is likely to get accommodated. Apna Dal leader Anupriya recently met Shah at his residence.

Leaders from several key states like Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are expected to be accommodated in the expansion as the BJP aims to expand in these states in the future.

The exercise comes against the backdrop of a massive review, which has stretched for weeks, undertaken by the BJP top brass of the works of Union ministers and the organisation against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.