New Delhi, Sept 06: Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee today began a preliminary exercise for a minor
cabinet reshuffle and expansion likely to take place before he
leaves for the US to address the UN General Assembly in New
York later this month.
Vajpayee held discussions lasting more than an hour at
his residence with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Finance
Minister Jaswant Singh and BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu.
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee along with one
of her party colleagues - Sudip Bandopadhyay or Ajit Kumar
Panja - are among those who are likely to be inducted into the
Union Council of Ministers, highly placed BJP sources said.
Besides the Trinamool Congress leaders, others who are
likely to be included in the council of ministers are BJP
chief whip in Parliament, V K Malhotra and Dhananjay Kumar,
BJP MP from Mangalore. Kumar's likely induction was to give
Karnataka representation in the ministry after Ananth Kumar
was appointed president of the state unit, the sources said.
The exercise is likely to take place after September 10
when a meeting of BJP central office bearers is slated in
Bangalore.
Naidu who was to have left for china immediately after
the Bangalore meeting would now be leaving for Beijing on
September 17, the sources said.
The Prime Minister would be reaching New York on
September 19 and is slated to address the UN General Assembly
on September 25.
Bureau Report
