NEW DELHI, Jan 16 � Despite an undercurrent of tension within the party, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday ruled out the possibility of reshuffling his ministry. However, he quickly added that a final call on the issue would be taken by the Party High Command.
The Chief Minister arrived here yesterday to take part in the AICC Session tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the BJP�s three-day national executive and national council meeting will get under way on Friday, with the commitment and target of �mission good governance�.
Talking to newsmen, Gogoi said that there is no possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle at the moment. �However, the Party High Command will take a final decision,� he added.
Gogoi is likely to come under pressure from a section of his party colleagues over the issue of reshuffling his council of ministers. A delegation of senior MLAs headed by Sarat Borkotoki is scheduled to arrive in the capital to meet the Congress president to convey their �displeasure� over delay in re-jigging the ministry.
A large nubmer of Congressmen from the North-east including Assam, most of them AICC members have starting arriving in the national capital to participate in the Plenary Session.
At least 22 disgruntled MLAs led by State Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is also scheduled to land in the capital later this evening. This group too is expected to meet senior AICC leaders including general secretary Dr CP Joshi and others to convey their dismay, sources in the group told this newspaper.
�We are planning to pitch camp in Delhi until the Party High Command resolves our grievances. We also want that our group should be consulted ahead of selection of nominees for the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha candidates,� sources said.
Oblivious to the brewing crisis, the Chief Minister said that youths would be given preference in the selection process for the Lok Sabha polls. As for the selection of Rajya Sabha candidates, he said that the party has started receiving applications but no panel has been finalised as yet.
Today, controversial former MP, Mani Kumar Subba and Ripon Borah were among several party aspirants who met the Chief Minister at Assam Bhavan. The Chief Minister later in the evening participated in the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).
Meanwhile, BJP�s national vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that over ten thousand representatives will participate in the national council meeting. These include 95 from Arunachal Pradesh, 250 from Assam, Manipur (12), Meghalaya (30), Mizoram (18), Nagaland (20), Sikkim (30) and Tripura (30).
Party�s senior leaders including Lal Krishna Advani, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, Murli Manohar Joshi, M Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari and BJP-ruled states chief ministers will also be present at the meeting, he said.
