UP may be given more weightage in Modi's cabinet rejig

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh is likely to be given more weightage in the reshuffling of the union council of ministers on Tuesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in view of the forthcoming election in the state.

Two new members of parliament from this state may be inducted into the council while finance minister Arun Jaitley’s additional portfolio of information and broadcasting may be offered to someone else.

Chances of Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel joining Modi ministry appear bright. The party is an ally of the Bhartiya Janata Party. She was one of the two MPs from the state who met party chief Amit Shah this morning. Another state leader who met Shah is Mahendra Pandey.

The merger of one of Apna Dal’s faction may follow her induction into the ministry. The BJP may also try to bring the other faction on board.

Since after meeting them the party president spoke to Modi, speculations about their joining are rife. Later, Shah also talked to finance minister and some other party leaders.

The party would like to win over Brahmins supporting the rival BSP and in this light there will be no surprise if Pandey is also taken in. In the Allahabad national executive meeting too preference was given to this caste by adding two new caste members to the executive.

Others who met Mr Shah were Purushottam Rupala and Mansukhbhai Mandavia, BJP leaders from Gujarat, Arjun Ram Meghwal and PP Choudhary from Rajasthan, SS Ahluwali, BJP MP from Darjeeling, the party's Vijay Goel from Delhi and Ramdas Athawale, a BJP ally in Maharashtra. They too may take oath.

Maharashtra could have three more ministers including one from Shiv Sena which is nursing some grudge. There will be no change in four top portfolios such as home finance defence and external affairs.There are 66 ministers in council now. As many as 82 ministers could join the council.