Berth for allies?
The hope for another cabinet reshuffle never dies down. Not when allies, old and new, are waiting in expectation of berths. So, when OPS met the Prime Minister, the Tamil Nadu deputy CM’s said to have made a plea for two berths for AIADMK in the government, one for deputy speaker M Thambidurai and one for his loyalist V Maitreyan. Whether or not the PM accommodates either in his Cabinet, the BJP certainly wants the AIADMK to adopt a resolution that it’s joining the NDA.
A ministerial slot would be considered post formalisation of ties, with the approval of the BJP parliamentary party. But a Cabinet reshuffle for the allies may actually take place, once the winter session of Parliament is over and the Himachal and Gujarat elections results are out. BJP, meanwhile, is picking new allies in other states as well — the tie-up with Narayan Rane in Maharashtra and Mukul Roy in Bengal, it seems, is part of that strategy.
The missing links
Talking of allies, it was surprising that one of the core allies of the UPA, the NCP was absent from Pranab Mukherjee’s book release that showcased the coalition politics. Neither Sharad Pawar nor anyone from his party attended the event. Pawar may not have liked what Mukherjee has written on him. But the Left leaders who nearly pulled down the UPA government over the nuclear issue, Sitaram Yechury and Sudhakar Reddy, not only came but hogged the limelight.
None from the Congress, barring Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, were seen. The BJP and its ministers too were missing, though invites had gone out all the VIPs from the publisher’s end. Also quite significantly the Congress chief and the vice chief declined to speak on the book, leaving it to Manmohan Singh to do the talking.
Gehlot up, Diggy down
Till now, Digvijaya Singh had one of the biggest rooms in the AICC. The ones belonging to the Congress president and the vice president are of course, bigger, but they are unlocked only once a year. Now that Diggy’s off on his spiritual Yatra and won’t return till February next, his spacious room has been assigned to Ashok Gehlot. As the Gujarat in-charge, Gehlot has been frequently travelling with Rahul Gandhi. The buzz, Gehlot’s graph is up, Digvijaya’s down. The states, he was in charge of have been taken away, one by one, after the Goa debacle.
Junior in sulk
The Ministers of State are rarely happy people. The NDA junior ministers may not go up in revolt like the UPA MoSes did, but they are cribbing in private. One of them claimed that instead of files, what he’s given is his senior ministers’ day’s schedule. But during their regular meetings with the PM, they dare not make their grievances known as that would mean more hours in Delhi and less visits to constituencies. Now, at least they have the option of flying off for ‘people’s assignment’ whenever they want.
Santwana Bhattacharya
The author is Political Editor, TNIE.
Email: santwana@newindianexpress.com