Cabinet lobbying begins

Feb 14, 2010

New Delhi ,Feb. 14: Speculation about an AICC reshuffle has almost subsided with aspirants in the Congress lobbying for Cabinet berths at the Centre because the Manmohan Singh government, UPA-II, will complete its first year in office in May this year.

The current mood at AICC headquarters here is not for a change in the middle of the process of organisational elections. Besides, the party’s victory in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls also delayed the reshuffle. Now, insiders are not insisting on the implementation of the principle of “one man, one post” even as half a dozen Union ministers — A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, M. Veerappa Moily, Mukul Wasnik, Prithviraj Chavan and V. Narayanasamy — have been handling key states.The emergence of Mr Rahul Gandhi as a charismatic leader has made the AICC headquarters “feel good”. The rank and file in the party see their role as strengthening the hands of the young leader “He(Rahul) has revived the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, made the party number one in Maharashtra and will revive it in Bihar,” they said, predicting that the Congress in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal would be different in the coming Assembly elections.“Rahulji is touring the country bringing talent and youth into the party,” said an AICC official who admired how the AICC general secretary had tamed the Shiv Sena in Mumbai. A division in the Opposition and the isolation of regional satraps is making lobbying for Cabinet berths in the Congress interesting because those in the second line in the ruling party want to prove their mettle by becoming ministers.The performance of senior Congress ministers, other than the top three of Pranab Mukherjee, A.K. Antony and P. Chidambaram, are under watch. Aspirants are suggesting that the Prime Minister and the Congress chief can create a space for a second rung in the Cabinet by giving other assignments to the senior ministers. The lobbying could become intense once the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha are over in the coming months.The number of Cabinet-rank ministers at the Centre is 33 but UP and Bihar failed find a place while Andhra Pradesh has only one minister of this rank.

Venkatesh Kesari

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