Before a Cabinet rejig, some excitement, some sulking

Amid an uncertainty over how the Union Cabinet will look after a reshuffle the next day, a sense of excitement was palpable among ministerial probables on Saturday. Many of the leaders to be sworn in received calls; some arrived in the national capital in anticipation of getting calls; and some others sulked as their parties were not able to decide whether or not to join the government.

From Rajasthan, Olympic silver medallist and politician Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Jat strongman Sanwarmal Jat were told to stand by for the swearing-in ceremony. Despite sweeping the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Narendra Modi had named only one leader from this state in its Union government.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N Chandrababu Naidu confirmed Y S Chowdary, a businessman, was his party's choice for a second ministerial berth in the Modi government (the party's Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju is the Union civil aviation minister). Chowdary is likely to get a minister of state rank. BJP's choice from Telangana will be Bandaru Dattatreya, a party stalwart from the region.

Though there is no confirmation on this yet, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a Shia Muslim from Uttar Pradesh, could beat Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, another prominent (Sunni) Muslim face of BJP, in race for a ministerial position.

From Bihar, which is going to the hustings next year, two hopefuls - Ramkripal Yadav and Giriraj Singh - landed in Delhi expecting a call from the Prime Minister's Office. But there was no confirmation till the time of going to press.

Another member of Parliament who knows he is going to be made a minister is Vijay Sampla. A Dalit leader representing Punjab's Hoshiarpur (reserved) constituency, Sampla grew up amid acute deprivation and learnt a plumber's trade to keep body and soul together. He then went to Saudi Arabia, where he taught himself the hardware business. He had won from his constituency by a wafer-thin margin of 124 votes.

Among those still unsure about joining the government are members of the Shiv Sena. They are waiting for party chief Uddhav Thackeray to decide. The Shiv Sena's Anil Desai will be the party's choice for ministership, but there are conditions.

"Desai could be asked not to take the oath till BJP conveys its decision to accept the Shiv Sena's support in Maharashtra or to induct party legislators in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' Council of Ministers," the party's leaders in Mumbai indicated.

"Talks between the Sena and BJP are on. This is not a demand-supply question. It is a question of fair representation," said Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut. The party has convened a meeting of its 63 legislators on Sunday to elect the legislature party leader and announce its course of action.

Laxmikant Parsekar becomes Goa CM as Parrikar heads for Delhi

Laxmikant Parsekar, 58, an old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh hand who helped build the Bhartiya Janata Party in Goa, was on Saturday sworn in as the chief minister of the coastal state after he snuffed out competition from his senior and deputy CM Francis D'Souza to succeed Manohar Parrikar, who was plucked for a Union Cabinet berth. Parrikar, tipped to become the Union defence minister, resigned from the CM's post on Saturday.