(Updates with analyst comment, details) By Simon Gardner COLOMBO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's president may reshuffle his cabinet, his office said on Tuesday, and an aide said he could bring in opposition MPs to shore up his minority government in a move that could deepen political divisions. President Mahinda Rajapakse's government is dwarfed by the opposition in parliament after hardline Marxist allies broke away from his coalition, forcing him to reach out to the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and minority Tamil and Muslim parties. However the UNP has rejected calls to form a joint cabinet, and warned that any reshuffle that tempts party dissidents to cross over could hurt a pact between the two main parties aimed at forging an end to a two-decade civil war with the Tamil Tigers. "I would expect to see people from the opposition coming in to the cabinet," a senior presidential aide told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The President's office said Rajapakse saw no reason for a snap general election, and believed an election "would only be needed if the balance of forces in parliament changes". The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, whose main member is Rajapakse's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, has around just 70 of the 225 seats at a time when fighting with the Tigers is escalating. Both parties agreed a pact last year to work together to help end a conflict that has killed more than 67,000 civilians, troops and rebel fighters since 1983, seen as an effort to forge a cross-party, consensus approach. But five high profile UNP MPs have defected to the government since Rajapakse took power in late 2005, further distancing the bickering parties. "I don't know why the President wants more dissidents in his cabinet," said UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake. "If they want to weaken the UNP, then it will have an impact on the memorandum of understanding." Analysts said Rajapakse was also likely considering a reshuffle as a concession to hardline Marxist and Buddhist monk allies, who want him to take a hard line with the Tigers and want the conflict settled on the battlefield rather than at the peace table. "There will be a lot of animosity between the UNP and MPs who crossed over, and this probably would allow the president to pursue his current line, which is to appease the (Marxist) JVP and (Buddhist Monk party) JHU," said Rohan Edrisinha of think-tank the Centre for Policy Alternatives. (Additional reporting by Ranga Sirilal in COLOMBO)
