P Chidambaram to be Finance Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde Home Minister: sources

New Delhi: In a Cabinet reshuffle likely this weekend, P Chidambaram will be made the Finance Minister and the current Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, is likely to take over as the new Home Minister, sources said on Tuesday. Sources say that the note on the Cabinet reshuffle has been sent to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, which will issue a notification on Cabinet reshuffle soon.

Shinde is also likely to be made the UPA Leader in Lok Sabha. Veerappa Moily is likely to take additional charge of power. A complete reshuffle is further expected after the monsoon session of Parliament in September.

The post of the Finance Minister was left empty after Pranab Mukherjee resigned from the post ahead of the Presidential election.

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh handled the office temporarily, it was said P Chidambaram was a favourite for the post.

Chidambaram has held the Finance Ministry twice. Chidambaram's appointment as the head of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on telecom is also an indication that government is willing to take on the opposition.

Sources add that this is the only change being contemplated for now.

While Shinde is likely to be made the Leader of the Lok Sabha, in the recent past, some Congress members had written to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi requesting that Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi be considered for the post.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also indicated a Cabinet reshuffle in June when the UPA nominated Pranab Mukherjee for the President's post, but he was silent on the timing then.

"I think that's a legitimate expectation," he had told the accompanying media delegation to the G20 and Rio+20 summits to Mexico and Brazil, when asked if he wished to reshuffle his Cabinet.

"You will get to know about it when it takes place," he had said, when also queried if more parties were set to formally join the United Progressive Alliance in the near future.

(With additional information from IANS)

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)