The exit of Dayanidhi Maran from the government has fuelled speculation of a reshuffle of the Union Cabinet early next week, possibly on Monday or Tuesday.
The restructuring of the Union Council of Ministers has been on the cards for a long time after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated such a possibility when he undertook a rejig in January and spoke of a "more expansive exercise" later this year.
There are a number of vacancies in the Union Cabinet like Railways after Mamata Banerjee became West Bengal chief minister, and Textiles in the wake of Maran's resignation.
There are a number of ministers holding dual charge like Kapil Sibal who has Telecom and Human Resource Developement. There has been talk of Congress party thinking of removing "deadwood" to strengthen governance.
Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee is meeting DMK chief M Karunanidhi tomorrow possibly to know about their choice as replacement to Maran.
Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam sources have indicated that Karunanidhi is not keen on sending a replacement. But a decision on this is likely after the DMK chief's meeting with Mukherjee.
There is talk of elevation of some of the ministers particularly from Uttar Pradesh which is goes to elections next year.
