The Hindu : Will Sinha be sent to Jharkhand?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 20, 2002

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Will Sinha be sent to Jharkhand?

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI JUNE 19. The Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, is believed by many Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to be "not out of danger'' and there are some who feel that in the Cabinet re-shuffle some time next week, the Jharkhand Chief Minister, Babulal Marandi, may be brought into the Cabinet and Mr. Sinha sent to Ranchi to head the Government there.

There is also the expectation in the party that this time, when the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has himself indicated a major exercise _ one view is that as many as 10 to 11 BJP Ministers may be dropped or re-shuffled _ several senior Cabinet Ministers may be dropped and asked to work for the party organisation. After all, next year as many as 10 Assembly elections are due.

Party leaders indicated today that a Cabinet re-shuffle could take place early next week after the return of the Union Home Minister, L.K.Advani, from Spain. It is assumed that the Prime Minister will discuss the proposed changes in detail with Mr. Advani before finally making up his mind. The Vice-Presidential election, which is to be completed by August 21, could take place at the end of the monsoon session of Parliament, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pramod Mahajan, said today, while indicating that the session could begin anytime between July 16 and 22.

It seems that although as yet no formal discussion has taken place inside the BJP and among the top leaders in the Government on the Vice-Presidential candidate, the name of the former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, is certainly doing the rounds.

At the same time a consensus candidate is not being ruled out _ the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam leader, Chandrababu Naidu, has also said "there was nothing wrong'' in arriving at a name by consensus. But in the BJP a man from the party stables would naturally be the preferred choice. Besides Mr. Shekhawat the names of Bhai Mahavir and Vishnu Kant Shastri, both Governors, are also being mentioned. At the same time it is being emphasised that no discussion had yet taken place formally and that the process would begin after the Presidential election on July 15.

In the BJP there is also the view that Mr. Shekhawat should not be removed from the Rajasthan scene especially as Assembly elections are due in the state next year. There is no leader tall enough to effectively counter the Congress Government in the State led by Ashok Gehlot.

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