A Goal In Every Portfolio

Actuated and orchestrated by deputy PM L.K. Advani, last week's cabinet reshuffle may well tone up the government and the BJP for the coming assembly and general elections. But it could also set the stage for a power struggle within the party. As word of Pramod Mahajan's ouster from the cabinet and his proposed induction into the party organisation got around, the one question on everyone's mind was: how would a heavyweight like Mahajan work under BJP president Venkaiah Naidu, who till the other day was very much his junior?

The joke doing the rounds in party circles last week was that the BJP president had his blood pressure checked twice—once in the party office and once at home—on Tuesday, when it became clear that Mahajan was to be accommodated as party general secretary. The buzz at the party HQ is that there's a likelihood of Mahajan upstaging Naidu but no one is willing to speculate on whether he will eventually get the top job in the party.

Advani has gone out of his way to emphasise that at the heart of the reshuffle was the induction of Arun Jaitley and not Mahajan's ouster. "The starting point was when (PM Atal Behari) Atalji said he wanted Arun back in the cabinet," he said. Naidu maintained that he had agreed, "provided I get an as good or better replacement for Arun. Several names were discussed and we decided on Pramod".

But when Mahajan was asked what the central message of the reshuffle was, minutes before the swearing-in ceremony, he was cryptic. "I am," was all that he said. Many senior party leaders agree, insisting that Jaitley was inducted into the cabinet merely to create space for Mahajan in the party. After all, Jaitley had been doing a pretty good job as election strategist. For the mantri-maker (Mahajan) to be ousted from the mantri-mandal cannot be regarded as a routine exercise, they said.

A party leader pointed out that Mahajan's removal from the communications ministry might be justified on the grounds of performance, as he's been caught in the crossfire between the cellcos on the one hand and the WLL lobby on the other. In fact, the recent TRAI decision to hike fixed-line rates has infuriated telephone-users and cellular operators and is being seen as the last straw—although, to be fair, TRAI is supposed to be autonomous. Certain sections of the bureaucracy, too, have been gunning for Mahajan.

But that doesn't explain why he was relieved of parliamentary affairs, a portfolio even his detractors say he handled superlatively, getting a record number of bills passed in very difficult circumstances. The long and short of it, they say, is that Advani was unhappy with Mahajan. In the three days of "consultation" which preceded the reshuffle, Mahajan reportedly pointed out that he couldn't work under a person so junior to him but was told that that argument didn't hold water, as Naidu was "everybody's president", the PM and deputy PM included. One of the alternatives suggested in a closed-door meeting of the party brass was apparently a switch of portfolios between Sushma Swaraj and Mahajan but that didn't find acceptance.

If gearing up for the elections was one reason for shifting Mahajan to the party, BJP MPs point out that Jaitley has the Gujarat victory to his credit and was concentrating on Himachal Pradesh. Jaitley made it clear he would continue to play a role in the party organisation by spending a few hours in the BJP HQ every day. As Mahajan generously pointed out, the fact that Jaitley had been shifted out of the party didn't mean he was a bad organiser—it was just that the law ministry needed a professional. Equally generous about Mahajan, Jaitley observed that "any post can be converted into an opportunity. It depends on the person".

The other great surprise was the fact that Arun Shourie retained the disinvestment portfolio.Party sources said Naidu had made it clear to both Vajpayee and Advani that in the run-up to the elections, he couldn't afford strained relations with the Sangh parivar, which has made its anti-Shourie sentiment pretty clear. A dose of pre-poll populism, including going slow on disinvestment, was desirable. The two acceded and it was decided that Shourie would be shifted to commerce full-time while his portfolio would be handed over to the ever-diplomatic FM, Jaswant Singh.

But highly-placed sources said that hours before the reshuffle, Shourie met the PM and threatened to quit. He also said commerce was not his "cup of tea". Vajpayee and Advani backed down and Shourie not only got Mahajan's portfolios but also retained disinvestment. Intense corporate lobbying on his behalf helped, the sources added. The final decision, in fact, was taken only at 3 pm on Wednesday.

Apart from that, there wasn't much give and take, with Advani getting his way. The PM said the reshuffle was necessary because "the nda and the party are preparing to face challenges", but the buzz in party circles is that Vajpayee wasn't too keen on it. In the fortnight preceding the swearing-in ceremony, the PMO's spin doctors were discouraging speculation on the reshuffle. It was Advani who felt the time was right and insisted on having it before he left for his tour of Southeast Asia.

The other notable oustee from the Union cabinet was Uma Bharati, who has been asked to proceed to Madhya Pradesh and prepare for the assembly elections. Bharati, who reportedly took the counsel of senior rss functionaries, was the first to submit her resignation. She is understood to have insisted that Kailash Joshi continue as state BJP chief, as she does not want to get bogged down by intra-party politics. Until last week, Vajpayee and Advani were unsure whether she ought to be relieved of her cabinet post. But the feedback from MP—that her campaign there had drawn a big public response—decided the issue.

Jana Krishnamurthy's exit from the cabinet was pretty much on the cards as neither the PM nor the deputy PM had much time for him after his acrimonious ouster as BJP president. (The PMO went to great lengths to point out that Krishnamurthy had chosen to quit rather than accept a less demanding portfolio—culture—but no one in the party was fooled.) The departure of Raman Singh, who has to devote time to the party's campaign in Chhattisgarh, was expected. As for Vijay Goel, seen as Mahajan's man, his shifting from the PMO as MoS, parliamentary affairs, comes as no surprise. Vasundhararaje Scindia's exit as minister of state, too, had been taken for granted ever since she took over the BJP's reins in Rajasthan.

Her portfolio, personnel and training, will be looked after by the deputy PM. Advani will exercise administrative control over the CBI, though its director, P.C. Sharma, will report to the cabinet secretariat. Of late, the CBI has been frequently briefing the deputy PM on matters of internal security. It was for this reason that the first official announcement of Abu Salem's arrest came from Advani's office and not the CBI.

The situation is fraught with awkwardness, particularly after the Supreme Court order of November 29 last year, saying that the BJP leaders involved in the Babri Masjid case—Advani, Uma, Murli Manohar Joshi and Vinay Katiyar—should be tried in a Rae Barelli court. "We're still studying the order," a CBI official said.

Jagmohan, who was in line for a more important ministry, reportedly managed to retain tourism and culture by telling the PM he wanted to do justice to the initiatives he had taken in this crucial sector. Shatrughan Sinha was retained thanks to Advani's soft corner for him but was demoted to shipping, a reflection on his performance in health and family welfare.Again, Advani's soft corner for Sushma was evident in her lateral shift to health, with additional charge of parliamentary affairs. Since she does not have an rss background and is popular with most nda and Opposition leaders, she is seen as an ideal choice for parliamentary affairs.

Both Shahnawaz Hussain and Ananth Kumar survived despite lobbying against them, the former because he enjoys the confidence of both the PM and the deputy PM and the latter with the support of the heavyweights of the Delhi BJP unit, whose slightest wish has been the urban development minister's command of late, like regularising unauthorised constructions.

In replacing Sushma with Ravi Shankar Prasad, Advani has not only rewarded him for loyalty but also reposed considerable faith in him. The information and broadcasting ministry is important in the run-up to elections, as it projects the achievements of the government. The return of the other Bihari, C.P. Thakur, to the cabinet underscores the need to satisfy the demands of the Bhumihar lobby in that state.

That the deputy PM kept caste and regional considerations in mind while drawing up the council of ministers is evident. A Dalit (Sanghpriya Gautam), a tribal (Jaskaur Meena) and a Thakur (Dalip Singh Judeo) have been accommodated as ministers of state. Maharashtra, Gujarat and UP are all represented, as well as the states going to polls, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Vajpayee did not rule out the possibility of another reshuffle to accommodate the nda allies who have been left out this time but only after the budget session of Parliament. The question now is, when does the BJP intend to go in for general elections? One of the proposals being considered is an early poll, perhaps along with the assembly elections later this year. However, a lot will depend on the outcome of the Himachal Pradesh elections, which would indicate whether the party is indeed on a roll.