Trinamool eyes Cabinet berth

KOLKATA: The Union Cabinet reshuffle slated for June 29 are being carefully followed here in Kolkata, since prospects of the Trinamool Congress entering the ministry have suddenly become bright.
Mamata Banerjee has stood by the Prime Minister through the difficult days of the Gujarat crisis. Moreover, she has reposed her faith in him over the controversy regarding the bifurcation of the Eastern Railway.
In both cases, Mamata and her party have been at the receiving end of public opinion, especially in West Bengal.So, the Trinamul expected a quid pro quo.
“I am confident of nullifying the railway bifurcation,� she told TNN. Political circles are also rife with speculation that Union home minister L.K. Advani may be elevated to the post of deputy Prime Minister.
“The NDA cannot do without either Vajpayee or Advani. This seems to be the only workable compromise between the two,� said NDA sources.
Advani’s promotion is likely to be a sop directed at the Sangh Parivar hardliners and he will retain his ministry.
There are other major changes in the offing as well. Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha almost certain to take over as the chief minister of Jharkhand, then either defence minister Jaswant Singh or disinvestment minister Arun Shourie might be knocking at the finance ministry doors.
“For MEA (ministry of external affairs), the PM might plump for either Farooq Abdullah or Brajesh Mishra,� claimed the NDA source.
In case Mishra dons the ministerial garb, he will have to be a member of Parliament. Then, the Upper House would be the obvious choice.
With general elections slated for 2004, the BJP is toying with the idea of replacing Jana Krishnamurthy with Pramod Mahajan as the party president.
Joining him in the party will be Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kumar. A section of the BJP felt that Krishnamurthy was not up to it.
“Our situation is like that of Bahadur Shah. Though we are in power in Delhi, rest of the country is out of our control,� rued a BJP leader.