Poll-wary Sheila to effect cabinet reshuffle soon

Portfolios of some ministers may be changed and some new faces can be included.

Approaching her fourth elections Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is expected to reshuffle her cabinet of ministers ‘within a next few days’. While there will be a change in the portfolios of some key ministers, sources said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit may also drop a minister or two and bring in new faces in her cabinet.

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According to sources, Dikshit has been trying to make changes in her council of ministers for quite some time but was told by the Congress' national leadership to wait till the Presidential elections were over.

With assembly elections just about a year away, sources said the time is just right to make necessary changes in the council of ministers as well as the legislative set up.

While Dikshit is likely to please some of the senior and disgruntled MLAs and give them more responsibility in either the government or in the party, sources said this is an opportunity for the chief minister to neutralise her detractors and may drop them for "non performance".

In the last reshuffle in February 2011, Dikshit had dropped Mangat Ram Singh from the cabinet and had rewarded Ramakant Goswami, an old loyalist, by making him a minister.

"She had actually planned to make more changes in 2011 but could not do so. We may see those changes in the government this time," said a senior Congress leader.
In the legislative set-up, Dikshit has to get herself a new parliamentary secretary before the monsoon session. Sources said Dikshit may also replace deputy speaker Amrish Gautam with one of her more loyal MLAs.