By IANS,
New Delhi: With Mamata Banerjee set to become chief minister of West Bengal giving up her post of railway minister, a cabinet reshuffle is on the cards and could also see changes in ministers from the Congress.
Banerjee, who heads the Trinamool Congress, has already indicated that her party will prefer keeping the portfolio.
“We wish to keep the railway ministry with our party only as part of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance). We have only one union ministry so we want to keep it with us. We think we deserve it. But the prime minister will take the decision in the cabinet,” said Banerjee in an interview to a private Bengali news channel, soon after her landslide victory in the West Bengal elections, dislodging the Left Front government in power for 34 years.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said afer the cabinet reshuffle in January that “a more expansive” exercise will take place after the budget session. However, the budget session was curtailed due to assembly polls in five states.
Congress sources said cabinet reshuffle is expected to take place before the monsoon session of parliament, which is likely to start in the second week of July.
They said that Trinamool Congress could get another berth in the council of ministers.
Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria has been made chief of Congress in Madhya Pradesh and is expected to be replaced in the cabinet, the sources said.
They said that contours of the cabinet reshuffle will be finalised by the prime minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and some major changes cannot be ruled out.