JOIN USThe youth component may even have a greater say in the new government as All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who was projected as an icon in the elections, will play a key role in the formation of the Council of Ministers.
Rahul may himself take either the Human Resource Development or the Information and Broadcasting portfolios.
Under wraps
The exercise to put together the Cabinet has begun but the details have been kept under wraps.
Besides Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior leaders such as Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony, Ahmed Patel and Rahul Gandhi are said to be involved in deciding as to who should be given Cabinet berths.
Among the key portfolios, which Congress will keep for itself, finance may go to M S Ahluwalia, currently Planning Commission Deputy Chairman. He enjoys the confidence of the PM. The portfolios of other key ministers, such as Pranab Mukherjee (external affairs), P Chidambaram (home), A K Antony (defence) and H R Bharadwaj (law) will likely remain unchanged. In case Mukherjee sought a change, Kamal Nath may be asked to take over External Affairs while Kapil Sibal, party leader and senior Supreme Court advocate, may take over the Commerce ministry.
AICC sources told Deccan Herald that Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mohsina Kidwai and Mukul Wasnik may be asked to shift to be part of the government, while general secretaries Digvijay Singh and B K Hariprasad, both of whom played key roles in formulating the election strategy for the party, may be asked to continue with their present tasks. It was not known whether Sonia will continue with aging HRD minister Arjun Singh.
From among the allies, NCP president Sharad Pawar may be asked to resume charge of the Agriculture ministry, while Trinamool Congress’s Mamata Banerjee may be offered Railways [reports from Kolkata say she may not take up the ministry and may instead concentrate on building the party in West Bengal. The DMK may demand a few more ministries than it commanded since 2004. It is expected that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s son Alagiri, Dayanidhi Maran, T R Baalu and A Raja may become ministers. Former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah could be a new addition. If the Congress agrees to take support from the JD(S), H D Kumaraswamy may be in, possibly as mines minister.
Among the younger lot, MPs Sachin Pilot, Jitin Prasada, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Annu Tandon and Madhu Yakshi Goud could make it to the Cabinet.
DH News Service