PM Modi may rejig Cabinet soon; JD(U), new NDA entrants likely to get portfolio

Ahead of his visit to China next week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may rejig his council of ministers, and the new NDA entrants are likely to get berths.

Modi will travel to Xiamen in China to attend the BRICS summit which will be held from September 3-5.

In the third Cabinet reshuffle, the Janata Dal United - JD(U) is likely to get a cabinet berth after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar dumped Lalu Yadav to again ally with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance.

The AIADMK could also get two Cabinet berth and MoS portfolios once it joins the NDA. The AIADMK has 37 Lok Sabha and 13 Rajya Sabha MPs.

According to reports, Prime Minister may also drop some non-performers.

Currently, two key ministries are without a full-time minister.  Finance minister Arun Jaitley and science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan are holding the additional charge of defence and environment portfolio.

Also, Smriti Irani, Narendra Singh Tomar, Ananth Kumar and Ravi Shankar Prasad are holding two or more portfolios.

Last week, BJP chief Amit Shah met Union ministers Birender Singh, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Upendra Kushwaha separately, triggering speculation, said a report

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had also hinted to have offered to resign after Kalinga-Utkal Express crash but was asked to 'wait' by the Prime Minister.