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THE NATION: NDA
THE CABINET RESHUFFLE BUZZ
Berth Right
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DELICATE OPERATION: In distributing
portfolios Vajpayee has his task cut out
state of mistrust
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Cabinet reshuffles
are a bit like having babies. Both involve prolonged expectancy followed
by instant bawling. In an era of coalitions, the plaintive noises begin
even earlier. On June 6, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee goes to Mumbai for
his second knee surgery. The NDA allies are convinced he will reconfigure
his ministry just before that. June 4 is a date that has been mentioned
in the media. There is intense speculation as to whether the NDA ranks
will swell with the entry of two men who share a name and an ambition-Ajit
Singh and Ajit Panja.
Panja's entry strongly depends on whether he
can split the nine-member Trinamool Congress, for which he needs at least
two other MPs. The wily lawyer that he is, Panja has also been arguing
that he was elected to Parliament in 1999 as an NDA candidate-the Trinamool
and the BJP were allies then but their relationship soured earlier this
year-and therefore he will not be violating the Anti-Defection Law if
he rejoins Vajpayee's Government. It is, at best, a curious argument.
The other Ajit's case is being pleaded by Rajnath
Singh, Uttar Pradesh chief minister. Rajnath faces elections in less than
a year and feels he needs Ajit Singh to swing the Jat vote in western
Uttar Pradesh. "It will give me a chance to win 100 seats (in the
403-member Assembly). I will manage the rest," Rajnath is reported
to have told the prime minister. The moment news of Ajit Singh's entry
into the Cabinet-he was seen as a contender for the Agricultural Ministry
that the Samata's Nitish Kumar holds in addition to the Railway Ministry-was
leaked, there was an eruption.
Om Prakash Chautala, fellow Jat and Haryana
chief minister, threatened to walk away with his five Indian National
Lok Dal MPs. Som Pal- member, Planning Commission, and Ajit Singh's old
rival in the Baghpat parliamentary constituency-met Home Minister L.K.
Advani to protest. Som Pal, who is married to Chautala's cousin, called
Rajnath's strategy flawed and, sources suggest, may have scuttled Ajit
Singh's chances.
Another NDA partner, the Shiv Sena, is unhappy
that it has not been "rewarded" for its loyalty while more troublesome
allies-like Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool, when she was in the NDA-have
been treated with kid gloves. Bal Thackeray's party has reportedly expressed
an interest in the Surface Transport Ministry. It is now looked after
by the BJP's B.C. Khanduri, a minister of state with independent charge.
It would appear that Jaswant Singh is overburdened with both the defence
and foreign ministries but at least one NDA member would like it that
way. The Samata wants Jaswant to stay undisturbed so that George Fernandes'
return to the Defence Ministry, whenever it takes place, is smooth.
With the cream of its talent already in the
Government, the BJP is not expecting new cabinet slots. At the minister-of-state
level, however, there is hope. Harin Pathak (Gujarat) resigned as minister
of state for defence in November 2000 shortly after Babulal Marandi gave
up charge as minister of state for environment and forests to take over
as chief minister of Jharkhand. The BJP detects openings here. There has
been disappointment with the performance of two of the BJP's ministers
of state. Sriram Chauhan (consumer affairs and public distribution) and
Munni Lal (labour and employment).
It may be the prime minister who is preparing
for the operation theatre, but it is his ministers and MPs who could be
more nervous.
A "hesitant"
BJP had agreed to support Koijam (right) in replacing Nipamacha after
"insistence" by the top Samata leadership.
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