Cabinet reshuffle: Congress gives in to regional hopes, sulking veterans

NEW DELHI: The Congress leadership tried to balance regional aspirations, placate sulking veterans and give better representation to poll-bound states like Rajasthan ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha elections while appointing eight new ministers.

In perhaps the last reshuffle of the Council of Ministers before the Lok Sabha elections, Mallikarjun Kharge, who had harboured chief ministerial aspirations in Karnataka but had to make way for Siddaramaiah, was made the Railways minister.

Despite making noises about giving youth better representation in the council of ministers, Congress did not walk the talk as Monday's reshuffle saw party veterans like 86-year-old Sis Ram Ola, 72-year-old Oscar Fernandes and 77-year-old Manikrao Gavit being sworn in as ministers.

Ola Oldest Member

In all, eight ministers -- four Cabinet and four ministers of state -- were sworn in on Monday evening. The return of Ola, the oldest member of the Cabinet, is particularly surprising as he had earlier been dropped for non-performance.

The reshuffle clearly appeared intended to balance regional aspirations. Apart from Ola, a Jat leader from Rajasthan, long-time trusted Gandhi-family loyalist Girija Vyas, also from the election-bound state, was sworn in as urban development and poverty alleviation minister.

Apart from Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh was the beneficiary of increased representation in the council of ministers with KS Rao being sworn in as textiles minister and J D Seelam as minister of state for finance. Rao, a seven-time MP, had been sulking for long for being overlooked in the last Cabinet reshuffle in October 2012.

He had come close to resigning from the Lok Sabha but was dissuaded by fellow MPs. His induction is significant as Congress is facing major internal troubles in Andhra Pradesh because of the party's indecisiveness on the Telangana statehood issue. Both Rao and Seelam are in favour of a united Andhra. Neither belong to Telangana.

There are two Dalit faces in the inductions -- Seelam and Punjab's Santosh Chowdhury. With the fresh inductions, the strength of the Union Council of Ministers has gone up to 77.

Fernandes, who held the Labour Sports and Youth Affairs portfolio in UPA-I, has become the minister for Roads and Highways, succeeding CP Joshi who resigned over the weekend. Santosh Chowdhury, a Dalit from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, has been given the Health & Family Welfare Ministry.

EMS Natchiappan, a member of the JPC on 2G scam and a member of the panel of the presiding officers in the Rajya Sabha, was appointed the minister of state for commerce and industry.

The reshuffle was expected for some time after the exit of DMK's six ministers and the resignations of Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar.