Industry stalwart N Chandrasekaran, who recently resigned as chairman of Tata Sons, is being discussed in political circles as a possible choice for a heavyweight ministry in the expected reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers.There is no official word on the speculation, but some political leaders say they have heard that Chandrasekaran could be considered for a Cabinet berth, including possibly the Education Ministry.Chandrasekaran recently resigned as chairman of Tata Sons, saying he would not seek reappointment once his current term ends on February 20. He had resigned on August 12 over differences with Tata Trust board members.He is 63 — much below the 75-year threshold normally followed for key appointments in the BJP, with notable exceptions, of course.Asked which ministry Chandrasekaran could be considered for, the answer was — “a corporate ministry or even the Education Ministry”.The appointment of former Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani as chairman of the High Powered Committee that Prime Minister Modi set up on exam reforms at the height of student protests at Jantar Mantar has lent credence to talks about whether the Modi-led BJP dispensation would rely on a lateral entrant to deliver in education.The ministry has seen several failed attempts at rescue, with the PM experimenting with conventional political appointments to the segment.The country has seen four Education Ministers in Modi’s 12-year term in office. These are Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh Pokhriyal and Dharmendra Pradhan. All had to leave for some or the other reason.It remains to be seen whether the government will think out of the box to appoint a full-time Education Minister in place of the interim Pralhad Joshi after Pradhan was asked to go in line with students’ demands after the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak episode.