CHENNAI: A combination of political compulsion to accommodate heavyweight defectors and controversies that threatened to affect the sheen of the newly formed government are likely to prompt Chief Minister and TVK president C Joseph Vijay to undertake a Cabinet reshuffle after the Assembly by-elections, said highly placed sources.
At least two ministers may be dropped and new faces, mostly likely to be from the AIADMK MLAs who resigned and joined in the TVK weeks, will be inducted into the Cabinet, sources told DT Next.
Among the ones facing risk of being dropped are Human Resources Management Minister D Sarathkumar and Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Minister K Jegadeshwari.
“The Chief Minister and the party leadership have reviewed the developments involving both ministers and are dissatisfied with the manner in which the issues have unfolded,” a person in the know said.
The controversy surrounding Sarathkumar after an old video of him consuming narcotics brought him and the government under avoidable scrutiny.
The minister’s explanation that the white powder that he is seen crushing in the video was cold medicine for his child did little to subdue the criticisms.
The video that surfaced on the day that the Chief Minister took part in the run against narcotics was bad optics, and seeking to capitalise on it, the DMK staged protests across the State seeking his dismissal.
Sources said Chief Minister Vijay ordered an inquiry into the allegations soon after the video surfaced, and the investigation is continuing.
On Tuesday, facing repeated questions from the media about the issue, Minister R Nirmalkumar said the party was examining Sarathkumar’s explanation.
Another minister to hog the headlines for wrong reasons was Jegadeshwari. First was when a photo surfaced online showing her with a history sheeter.
Most recently, she found herself at the centre of another row at a government function in Virudhunagar after she objected to the order in which the participating ministers’ names appeared in the board on stage, contending that as the district minister, her name should have preceded that of another Cabinet colleague.
Sources claimed that the leadership has also taken note of her differences with fellow minister S Keerthana and advised both of them to resolve the matter within the party.
As of now, the leadership has decided against taking immediate action, calculating that such a move could hand the opposition an opportunity to sharpen its attack.
Sources added that Transport Minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban and IUML minister AM Shahjahan are also under review, while changes to ministerial portfolios are under discussion, including demands from the VCK for a more significant post.
Besides the rows, the upcoming Assembly bypoll is another factor that is likely bring about a Cabinet reshuffle, as the influential figures from the AIADMK, who quit the party and joined – and are on the verge of joining – the ruling TVK, are expected to be accommodated in the government.
Of them, MC Sampath, C Vijayabaskar and MR Vijayabaskar have been Cabinet members during J Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K Palaniswami governments, and thus bring administrative experience, which the government is lacking.
Equally importantly, rewarding them may encourage others who are considering jumping the ship.
The final contours of the reshuffle, however, are expected to be determined by the outcome of the by-elections.