NEW DELHI, 8 September 2003 — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, yesterday held consultations with his senior Cabinet and party colleagues on the timing and content of the next Cabinet expansion/reshuffle. The exercise is scheduled to take place before Vajpayee leaves for his foreign tour on Sept. 16. Among those who formed the consultation core group yesterday evening included Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, and Bharatiya Janata Party President Venkaiah Naidu.
The only certain new entrant will be the leader of Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee. She is reportedly being offered the Ministry of Coal, whereas her preference is stated to be the Ministry of Surface Transport, currently being held by the BJP. There is reported to be a reluctance to take away an increasingly prestigious portfolio from a BJP minister to give it to Mamata.
However, this time the firebrand Bengal leader is in no mood to stick to her demand and is reportedly ready to accept whatever portfolio is given to her by Prime Minister Vajpayee. Besides Banerjee, one more Trinamool MP is also likely to be inducted into the union Cabinet. At this juncture, the name of Sudip Bandopadhyay is being mentioned. From the BJP, party spokesperson and senior leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra may also find a place in the Cabinet. Malhotra has been waiting for a long for his turn.
A new face from Karnataka state is also being considered for the Cabinet expansion this time. However, who will be the lucky one is yet to be disclosed, said BJP sources.
Meanwhile, a day after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad said it disfavored another prime ministerial term for Vajpayee, the BJP yesterday asserted the next general elections will be contested under his leadership only. “The next general elections will be contested by BJP along with the NDA under Vajpayee’s leadership. It is our hope that Vajpayee will continue to be our prime minister after the elections,” BJP President Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here. Naidu said Vajpayee had given an efficient government to the nation and was leading the country on the path of development.
