Major Cabinet reshuffle likely on October 28?

The Union Cabinet is likely to be reshuffled on Sunday.

Speculation has been rife about a possible reshuffle in the wake of the exit of Trinamool Congress ministers and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam representatives A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran in the last two years.

Reports of an eminent reshuffle gained fresh momentum after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi met President Pranab Mukherjee recently.

Rumors abound that some young faces could be included in the Cabinet.

The names of Manicka Tagore and Meenakshi Natarajan are doing the rounds.

Among the young ministers, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada may get promoted to Cabinet rank or get independent charge as ministers of state.

The latest reshuffle exercise could see some of the ministers holding charges of two ministries losing one of their portfolios.

With six ministers from the Trinamool Congress leaving, two or three Congress leaders from West Bengal are expected to be accommodated.

The names of Deepa Dashmunshi, Adhir Choudhury and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pradeep Bhatacharjee are doing the rounds.