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| Koda may get a Cabinet seat, but not anytime soon |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Aug 13, 2008, 00:22 IST |
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With the prime minister reluctant to take Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren back in the Union Cabinet, the Congress leadership is working out a strategy to make him the chief minister of Jharkhand. Congress sources say the current incumbent, Madhu Koda, might be given a berth in the Union council of ministers.
The need for such a move arose after Soren expressed his eagerness to take the chief minister’s post and Koda virtually rejecting his rival’s call to quit, trigerring a crisis in the state Congress.
But Soren will have to wait for an indefinite period as the Congress and the prime minister are not in a hurry to reshuffle the Cabinet as the party and the government brass has other priorities. Topping the list is the situation in Jammu & Kashmir.
A senior UPA minister said, “The situation in J&K is our biggest nightmare. We are devoting our entire attention to defuse the tension there.” If the current volatile situation is normalised, sources suggest there will a Cabinet reshuffle in September before the monsoon session of Parliament. A reshuffle in August has almost been ruled out.
Party sources said more than Soren, the reshuffle was needed to accomodate the Samajwadi Party, whose crucial support enabled the government to win the trust vote on July 22. But the Samajwadi Party has not made up its mind on joining the government. Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has indicated to the Congress that he needs time to take a call.
“So a Cabinet reshuffle at this point is meaningless,” said a top source.
Internally, the Congress intends a final rejig of both the Cabinet and the party for the upcoming elections. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, according to sources, favours relieving some of her lieutenants of dual responsibilities.
Leaders like Ajay Maken, Prithviraj Chavan and V Narayanswamy are holding both government and organisational charges. As the party is set to face elections in five states in November-December and the Lok Sabha elections anytime after November, Gandhi also has to balance the power equations in different states.
According to the law, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet can have 81 members. It already has 79 members. Sources suggest some ministers might be droped to accommodate allies like the SP and fresh Congress faces. But that is not happening before September.
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