Five ministers resign from Modi's cabinet

Five Indian ministers resigned late Thursday evening, fuelling speculation that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will reshuffle his Cabinet this weekend, according to Xinhua.

Those who have resigned are Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti,Skill Development Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Agriculture MinisterRadha Mohan Singh, junior Water Resources Minister Sanjeev Balyanand junior Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister GirirajSingh.

The five resignations came after India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah met senior ministers, including Financea nd Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, at his residence in the national capital Thursday morning.

Highly placed sources said that at least two more Indian ministers, including Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman could put in their papers to make way for new faces in the Cabinet, which is likely to be reshuffled Saturday.

Rudy and Sitharaman are likely to be given party roles ahead of the general elections in 2019 when Modi will seek a second term in office, sources said. The commerce minister could be made the party's national spokesperson, they added.

New faces are likely to be inducted into the cabinet, includingsome from alliance partners like the ruling regional Janata Dal(United) party of the eastern state of Bihar. The party is led byBihar's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

This is likely to be Modi's last major cabinet reshuffle before the general elections.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to overhaul his cabinet to boost efforts to spur flagging growth and soothe increasing signs of social tension before state elections this year and the national vote in 2019.