New Delhi, Aug. 1: Three weeks after Hemant Soren was sworn in chief minister to head a JMM-led coalition government of the Congress and RJD, the uncertainty surrounding his council of ministers refuses to go.
And it is the Congress that is contributing to the delay.
The reasons are one too many. Apart from oneupmanship among party MLAs who feel they are in with a chance to bag a cabinet berth, the central leadership is in a dilemma over balancing community and caste equations with its avowed intentions of projecting a “clean image”.
Then there are the Independents, two of whom — Bandhu Tirkey and Chamra Linda — are insisting they be rewarded for extending their support to the new government.
Apparently, the Congress is now seriously considering inducting them in the party, before naming them for cabinet berths to get around its earlier position of not giving ministerial posts to tainted Independents.
Four Congress MLAs are in the running to join Rajendra Prasad Singh in the cabinet, namely Chandra Shekhar Dubey, Banna Gupta, Sarfaraz Ahmad and Geetasri Oraon.
But the party leadership is not so sure about Ahmad as he has been under the CBI scanner for possible links with the 2012 Rajya Sabha cash stash case. “There are doubts about Ahmad and the central leadership has sought a clarification on the extent of the CBI’s investigations against him. He has a fifty-fifty chance,” a senior Congress leader involved in the negotiations said.
But, state Congress chief Sukhdeo Bhagat would not mention names.
“We want legislators with a clean image to join the cabinet. So, a lot of thought is being given on whom to propose. A final meeting (over the matter) could be held in Delhi tomorrow and the cabinet expansion will happen within two-three days,” he said.
On the fate of Tirkey and Linda, sources said they would be meeting the senior leadership tomorrow in Delhi.
“Talks with these legislators have been going on for some days at the state level. Now, they will meet senior leaders and join the party. There is a strong possibility that one of them could be made a minister in place of Ahmad whose inclusion looks uncertain,” said a leader in the know.
Tirkey is emerging as the central point of the proposed cabinet expansion. Apparently, he hasn’t burnt his bridges with the JMM too, suggesting he could join the party if he was accommodated in the Cabinet. “The Tirkey issue has created a problem in the JMM that is yet to finalise names of possible ministers. A final picture will emerge by tomorrow,” a senior JMM leader said.
Earlier in the day, Bhagat met Congress general secretary in charge of Jharkhand B.K. Hariprasad to discuss the list of probable ministers — four from the Congress and JMM each and one more from the RJD.
But the discussions were inconclusive.
“We will now meet tomorrow. After Tirkey and Linda meet our senior leaders here, all the issues would be finalised in one go,” Bhagat claimed.
Over the weeks, several senior Congress leaders from Jharkhand were camping in Delhi — not to lobby their own cases, but to spoil rivals’ chances of bagging a cabinet post.
Many passed on “reports” about other state leaders to keep the high command abreast. But publicly, the party refused to admit there was a problem.
“We are a disciplined party. I have said what I had to say to senior party colleagues in Delhi but now it is for the party president and vice-president to decide whom to choose. I will go by what they decide,” said a senior Congress MLA requesting anonymity.
Additional reporting by Vijay Deo Jha in Ranchi
