NEW DELHI, Sept 6 � With Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today talking of a Cabinet reshuffle before the Winter Session of Parliament, the race for a ministerial berth among the State�s MPs is likely to gather momentum.
Hints by Prime Minister about dropping a few of his Cabinet colleagues have also caused jitters among the Ministers. �I would also like to reduce the average age of my Cabinet,� he said.
Talking to a group of editors at his residence here, Dr. Singh made it clear that he was not thinking of retiring and indicated that he would look at options of a Cabinet reshuffle.
However, it was necessary for the Cabinet and the government to function with a certain degree of cohesion, and his Cabinet had functioned with a �much greater degree of cohesion than even the first Cabinet headed by Jawaharlal Nehru,� he said.
The Congress Party has two ministers from its quota in UPA- II from the North-east including Union Minister Bijoya Krishna Handique and Minister of State for Water Resources Vincent H Pala. Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha Sangma is from the NCP quota.
Senior Congress leaders assume that Assam may get another minister, given that the Assembly elections are round the corner. With the Winter Session scheduled to start sometime in the first week of November, reshuffle is expected sometime next month.
The names of probable include PCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita, Paban Singh Ghatowar, Ranee Narah and Biren Singh Ingti, who were all in the race last time. State Minister Gautam Roy�s camp had pushed for Lalit Mohan Suklabaidya�s name but backed off after it received few takers.
Interestingly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has since accommodated most of the aspirants. Ghatowar has been made the Lok Sabha Chief Whip of the Congress Party, while Ranee Narah has been given charge as party�s whip.
Further, Kalita, who is aspiring to be renominated as the PCC chief for the third consecutive term, may not be spared by the party because of the ensuing Assembly polls. Under the circumstances, it would be curious to see what stand Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi takes.
Meanwhile, there are strong speculations over the possibility of Dr Manmohan Singh continuing with the services of Handique, given the controversies surrounding the Ministry of Mines. The Prime Minister is also reportedly unhappy over the manner in which the gas cracker project is being handled.
Handique was given charge of monitoring the mega gas cracker, which has now slipped its deadline and is unlikely to be completed within its scheduled time of 2012.
The possibility of Pala being dropped from the Council of Ministers is also high, given the sharp reaction among Congress MPs of the region, who have on more than one occasion questioned the rationale of making both the MPs of Meghalaya, ministers in the Union Government.
