Live: Rahul wants to focus on party, says PM; BJP calls reshuffle useless

New Delhi: 12.30 pm: The Bharatiya Janata Party slams the reshuffle, saying that it will not make any change. BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "Nothing new has come from the scrapyard."

12.23 pm: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the new Cabinet is a mix of youth and experience. Upon being asked about Rahul Gandhi, the PM said that he had always wanted him in government but that the Congress General Secretary wanted to work for the party instead.

11:11 am: Corporate Affairs Minister M Veerappa Moily to get Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

11:05 am: Sources says Chandresh Kumari Katoch is likely to get Ministry for Social Justice.

11.00 am: Cabinet posts: K Rahman Khan, Dinsha Patel, Ajay Maken, Pallam Raju, Ashwani Kumar, Harish Rawat, Chandresh Kumari Katoch. MOS with independent charge: Manish Tewari, K Chiranjeevi and Sachin Pilot.

10:58 am: Sources say Manish Tewari may get Corporate Affairs Ministry

Ministers of State: Shashi Tharoor, Kodikunnil Suresh, Tariq Anwar, K Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, Ranee Narah, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, Sarve Satyanarayana, Ninong Ering, Deepa Dasmunsi, Porika Balram Naik, Dr Smt Kruparani Killi, Lalchand Kataria.

10.56 am: Manish Tewari and K Chiranjeevi get MoS Independent Charge. Shashi Tharoor and Kodikunnil Suresh to be made MoS.

10.30 am: Deepa Dasmunsi may get Culture Ministry, Jyoti Mirdha, Tribal Affairs and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Power.

10.20 am: Tariq Anwar says he will be made a Minister of State. He, however, refuses to comment on the portfolio.

9.30 am Ajay Maken refuses to comment on portfolio, says he is thankful to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for considering him for the opportunity. Meanwhile, India Against Corruption leader Arvind Kejriwal flays the exercise, calling it futile and saying that the Congress is playing musical chairs.

9:26 am: Big movers - Salman Khurshid to get Ministry of External Affairs, MM Pallam Raju HRD, Ajay Maken to get Cabinet rank. Kapil Sibal to lose the important HRD portfolio.

The Manmohan Singh Cabinet is set for a major makeover on Sunday. This is expected to be the last big Cabinet reshuffle before the 2014 General Elections, and this time, the theme privileges young blood over the old guard. The embattled Law Minister, Salman Khurshid is the frontrunner for the Ministry of External Affairs, the post left vacant after SM Krishna resigned. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is also in the race for the post.

Meanwhile, Ashwani Kumar is likely to get the Law Ministry, while Pawan Kumar Bansal could get the coveted Railways portfolio. Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily is likely to be shifted to Petroleum Ministry while Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath is expected to be moved to Parliamentary Affairs.

Rural Development Minister Jaipal Reddy could get the Science and Technology portfolio while Harish Rawat is likely to become the new Health Minister.

Old guard make way for young blood

A host of new and young faces are expected to make an entry into the Union Cabinet, some of them being elevated from their earlier positions. The first among them is Shashi Tharoor. He is likely to make a comeback two years after he quit the Cabinet over the IPL controversy. Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia could get the Cabinet berth of Corporate Affairs. Minister of State Sachin Pilot could be moved to Sports Ministry.

Ajay Maken and Milind Deora are also likely to be elevated. Congress Spokesperson Manish Tewari may become the new Minister of Information and Broadcasting, the post left vacant after Ambika Soni resigned. Deepa Dasmunsi, Tariq Anwar, Pradip Bhattacharya, Ranee Narah, Hemanand Biswal, Jyoti Mirdha are among the others who could get a place in the Cabinet as well.

Telangana tangle: 10 ministers from AP in the new Cabinet?

This is the fifth major Cabinet reshuffle during UPA-II's tenure and looks like Andhra Pradesh is going to be given special treatment. The state is set to have as many as 10 ministers in the Union Cabinet. A move that's being seen as the Congress's way of compensating for the Telangana separate statehood demand.

Here is a list of who could be those ministers:

- Southern film star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi who recently joined the Congress party is likely to get Tourism.

- D Purandeswari could get the Commerce Ministry and MM Pallam Raju could be given the HRD Ministry.

- Krupa Rani, Surya Prakash Reddy and Balram Naik are others from Andhra Pradesh likely to be included in the Cabinet.

List of ministers by states

Andhra Pradesh

Jaipal Reddy

Chiranjeevi

MM Pallam Raju

K Krupa Rani

K Surya Prakash Reddy

Balram Naik

D Purandeswari

Assam

Ranee Narah

Chandigarh

Pawan Kumar Bansal

Gujarat

Dinsha Patel

Jammu and Kashmir

Ghulam Nabi Azad

Jharkhand

Pradeep Balmuchu

Karnataka

M Veerappa Moily

Kerala

Shashi Tharoor

Kodikunnil Suresh

Madhya Pradesh

Kamal Nath

Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia

Maharashtra

Tariq Anwar

Vilas Baburao Muttemwar

Milind Deora

New Delhi

Ajay Maken

Odisha

Srikant Kumar Jena

Hemanand Biswal

Punjab

Ashwani Kumar

Manish Tewari

Rajasthan

Sachin Pilot

Anand Sharma

CP Joshi

Jyoti Mirdha

Uttar Pradesh

Salman Khurshid

Uttarakhand

Harish Rawat

West Bengal

Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury

Deepa Dasmunsi

Pradip Bhattacharya

7 ministers who resigned

- Ambika Soni and Mukul Wasnik resigned as Information and Broadcasting minister and Social Justice Minister, respectively, on Saturday saying they will work for the party instead.

- Subodh Kant Sahai resigned as the Tourism Minister.

- SM Krishna resigned as the External Affairs Minister stating that he will work for the party in Karnataka.

- Vincent Pala, Agatha Sangma and Mahadeo Singh Kandela are amongst others who have resigned.

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