Cong leadership discusses change of guard in Maha

The Congress leadership, which met on Saturday night to finalise the Cabinet reshuffle...

The Congress leadership, which met on Saturday night to finalise the Cabinet reshuffle, discussed the possibility of removing Vilasrao Deshmukh as Maharashtra Chief Minister.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi held discussions with senior leaders till late Saturday night. Though the agenda was the names for the reshuffle, which could take place as early as Sunday evening, the possibility of Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde replacing Deshmukh came up.

If Deshmukh is removed, he will either get a key party post or a slot in the Union Cabinet. Shinde had replaced Deshmukh as chief minister before the last Assembly polls.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a meeting with President Pratibha Patil today. It is learnt that the Government has discussed with Rashtrapati Bhavan the possibility of swearing in the new ministers on Sunday evening itself. But sources say that if the Congress president makes up her mind to remove Deshmukh tomorrow, the reshuffle could be deferred to Monday.

The party high command has received a string of complaints from different factions against Deshmukh and it is worried about the perceived unhappiness among minorities and Dalits.

Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia is set to be inducted into the Cabinet while there will be a new face from UP. The names of Jitin Prasada and Rajesh Mishra were being discussed. There could be a new tribal minister from Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand though JMM Chief Shibu Soren is unlikely to get a recall. From Andhra Pradesh, V Hanumanth Rao is likely to make it to the Council of Ministers, although search was also on to explore some other names. P R Dasmunsi is likely to give up Parliamentary Affairs which could be given to Vayalar Ravi. Union Ministers of State, Suresh Pachauri and V Rajasekharan, whose Rajya Sabha terms expire next week, will be out of the Union Council of Ministers.

From among the allies, the RJD will get one nominee in the Cabinet. Given the reluctance of DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, there will be no fresh face from the DMK.