Date speculation on Cabinet rejig

Several members of Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers are currently a bundle of nerves. A Cabinet reshuffle and expansion looks imminent and there is speculation that some of the ministers could get dropped. Some say the reshuffle is unlikely to take place on August 25, the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Others conjecture it could occur on August 27, the day Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad holds his “Opposition Unity” rally in Patna. News of the reshuffle would neutralise the media space the Opposition rally might occupy. Amid all this, a meeting of the Council of Ministers has been called on August 30. This has led some within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to surmise that the reshuffle can take place only after August 30 but before September 3, when the Prime Minister leaves for China to attend the BRICS Summit. What is certain is that the process will be complete by September 5, when the fortnight-long pitru paksha or shraadh begins, which is considered an inauspicious period.