Published Oct 13, 2026 | 6:24 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 13, 2026 | 6:24 PM
L Murugan taking the oath. (File Photo | Screengrab)
Is a Union Cabinet reshuffle in the offing even as the government battles mounting protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls?
Speculation about the reshuffle began doing the rounds on Tuesday as Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan resigned from his ministerial posts and his Rajya Sabha membership.
In a statement addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared on social media, the outgoing minister expressed his wish to return to grassroots politics and dedicate himself full-time to strengthening the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Murugan described serving in the Union Council of Ministers as the greatest honour of his life.
Recalling his humble beginnings as the son of daily-wage labourers, Murugan said serving in the Union government under Modi’s leadership had been a great privilege.
“Now, I wish to return to the grassroots, stand with our karyakartas and dedicate myself full-time to strengthening the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Murugan concluded his statement by reiterating his guiding principle: “Nation First. Party Next. Self Last.”
Murugan, an advocate, hails from Namakkal, a district in western Tamil Nadu. The 49-year-old earned his law degree from the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law College in Chennai, as well as his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Madras.
From July 7, 2021, to June 9, 2024, he served as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
The most recent change in the Union Cabinet came on July 25, 2026, when then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned after the Jantar Mantar protests, was replaced by Pralhad Joshi, who was given additional charge of the ministry.
If a full-fledged Cabinet reshuffle takes place, it would be the first since June 9, 2024, when a Council of 71 ministers was sworn in.
(Inputs from Subash Chandra Bose. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
