The Hindu : Cabinet reshuffle in offing?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2003

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Cabinet reshuffle in offing?

By Harish Khare

New Delhi Jan. 27. A cabinet reshuffle appears to be round the corner and could take place sometime later this week, before the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.Advani, takes off for an official visit to Thailand/Malaysia. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, is believed to have discussed the nature and content of the proposed reshuffle with Mr. Advani and the party president, Venkiah Naidu this evening. A reshuffle suggests itself after the BJP president made it clear that he would not want any Union Minister simultaneously holding a party position. That means Uma Bharti and Vasundraraje Scindia would have to give up their ministerial perches, consequent to their organisational assignments,respectively, in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The two women have so far resisted any suggestion that they may not be able to do justice to two posts.

A serious consideration is being given to the option of having the BJP general-secretary, Arun Jaitley, back in the Cabinet. Mr. Jaitley had left the Vajpayee Government only six months ago to join the organisation in the post-Goa re-energising of the party structure.

Mr. Jaitley's place as Law Minister in the Vajpayee Government was taken up by Jana Krishnamurthy who had vacated the BJP party presidential chair for Mr. Naidu. Mr. Krishnamurthy, of late, he has not been keeping good health, though he himself feels sufficiently equal to the task of being a senior Cabinet Minister.

The anticipation is that difficult days ahead on the Ayodhya front, and that Mr.Vajpayee may want to make use o Mr. Jaitely's talents. And if Mr. Jaitely is back in the Cabinet, he could easily resume his role as the Central Government's interlocutor on Kashmir, a role that ipso facto gets denied to him as a party functionary. Besides Mr. Jaitely, two other BJP names are reported to be under consideration--the former Gujarat Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel and C.P.Thakur. However, it is also clear that Mr. Vajpayee may not have the luxury of adding three Cabinet rank Ministers, in other words, he may be constrained to drop a few from the Cabinet, out of the BJP quota. That would mean the reshuffle may turn out to be a fairly comprehensive exercise.

The Prime Minister also has to make up his mind on reinducting Mamata Banerjee in his Cabinet. Mr. Advani is said to be opposed to the idea of having her back, whereas the NDA convener, George Fernandes is understood to have "promised'' her a return.

Then, there is Farooq Abdullah. The BJP bosses would want to be helpful to a useful ally but, at the same, the Prime Minister cannot encourage some one who is a political rival to the State Government in Jammu and Kashmir.

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