NEW DELHI, 21 May 2003 — Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee huddled with key counsel yesterday to plan a Cabinet reshuffle as ministers prayed against sackings ahead of next year’s general elections, an official said. Vajpayee met his deputy Lal Krishna Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and Venkaiah Naidu, the head of his ruling Bhatariya Janata Party (BJP) on the changes he plans in his three-tier jumbo Cabinet, the official said.
None of the three aides offered details after the closed-door meeting of the upcoming shakeup, which is seen as an exercise to bolster the BJP’s diminishing image ahead of the 2004 elections to national Parliament.
Media reports say that Vajpayee is likely to order the revamp on May 24 or 25.
As Cabinet ministers anxiously prayed that they would not be booted out, several junior members were seen greeting Vajpayee yesterday at a function to honor former Everesters.
Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh, who is among those who could be sidelined, put on a brave face yesterday, saying there was no friction between his regional RLD party and the BJP.
“The BJP and RLD are allies both at the center and in Uttar Pradesh state. I do not have any problems with them,” Singh said, as political sources said that several of Vajpayee’s 77 Cabinet colleagues were anxious.
“At least two of them are sitting by the telephone,” said a highly placed source amid speculation that Vajpayee was likely to sack them on grounds of poor performance.
On Sunday, Vajpayee ending a week-long vacation at a summer resort, said he would hire new ministers and overhaul his Cabinet.
He also hinted he would offer a job to Mamata Banerjee, an unpredictable politician who has earned the sobriquet of “revolving-door” minister because of her frequent resignations from and returns to Vajpayee’s Cabinet. “Those ministers burdened with many portfolios will be relieved. Some new members will be included,” Vajpayee said in the resort of Manali.
Banerjee’s Trinamool is a political force that can pose a serious challenge to the ruling Marxists in their bastion of West Bengal state, which sends a sizeable number of MPs to the national Parliament, analysts said.
Political leaders in Vajpayee’s disparate coalition speculate that the premier will not drastically prune his Cabinet but may hand down pink slips to at least two and shift some others to non-important offices.
The strength of his ministerial council at present is 77 with 30 Cabinet rankers and 47 junior ministers. Vajpayee has reshuffled his Cabinet at least half a dozen times since he came to power in 1999, with the most recent changes in January.
Reports said some of those whose portfolios could be changed are Health Minister Sushma Swaraj, also in charge of the parliamentary affairs, Law Minister Arun Jaitley, who also looks after commerce, and Arun Shourie, who heads the telecom and privatization ministries.
The new faces in the Cabinet could include former Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, according to indications.
Sonia Gandhi’s Congress party, which has ruled India for almost four decades since independence in 1947, has made spectacular electoral gains in recent months and currently holds office in 15 of the country’s 28 states.
Vajpayee to Inaugurate First
Lucknow-Jeddah Flight
Prime Minister Vajpayee yesterday left for Lucknow, his own parliamentary constituency on a two-day visit amid tight security. Vajpayee’s visit to the city will begin as he would attend a program at the Sarswati Shishu Mandir, an RSS run school in the evening.
He would attend a felicitation function at the Ganna Sansthan Auditorium this morning and also inaugurate several developmental projects at Kuria Ghat besides addressing a news conference at Raj Bhavan.
Vajpayee would flag off the inaugural Air- India flight to Jeddah at the Amausi Airport before leaving for New Delhi tomorrow. Significantly, the administration had been directed to ensure that the people of the city did not have any inconvenience during the prime minister’s visit.
Traffic restriction would be minimum, sources said adding there would be no forced closure of shops and other commercial establishment on the prime minister’s route. Moreover, the prime minister was expected to hold a meeting at his residence to finalize Cabinet changes.
