As the UPA readies itself for the poll year, the Cabinet reshuffle is expected to be the last for the current term. What does it indicate about Congress' strategy for the general elections? Business Standard's editor AK Bhattacharya joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. How much of this reshuffle infuse their cadres leading into the 2014 elections?...do the names doing the rounds have more credibility on their performance to deliver and hence would send out a good signal to it's electorate?..or is it more about accommodating some big names? Asked by: JK
A. You have answered your question at the end. It is largely to accommodate some names that had to be given ministerial slots. It would not make any significant difference to governance or the government's administrative effectiveness.
Q. Congress sees it is as one of the last opportunity to salvage some pride, congress is a large party to make those big changes move people from Cabinet to party and vice versa. Asked by: SE
A. That may well be the objective. But it seems this exercise has come a bit too late in the day.
Q. The indications on reshuffle does not give Telengana, coming any soon. How will the Congress address the issue? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. The appointment of Digvijaya Singh as the man in charge of Andhra Pradesh is an attempt to minimise the damage to Congress prospects post the Telengana imbroglio. It is difficult to say how much of that damage would be repaired.
Q. Has this reshuffle take care of satisfying the states to go to polls soon? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Some changes are aimed at giving an opportunity or space for central leaders to play a bigger role in the states. To that extent, you are right.
Q. Ajay Maken and CP Joshi for party work - so they say.IS it that both want more powerful posts in their state rather than at centre? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Ajay Maken may be groomed for an eventual change in Delhi's leadership and CP Joshi too is reportedly keen on returning to Rajasthan. States offer greater opportunities in a situation where the real action political and economic is taking place there.
Q. Why Rahul not being inducted as an apprentice, to give him the experience in managing North & South Blocks? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Rahul Gandhi has made it clear that he has no desire to work for the government. Perhaps that is good for the government as well!
Q. Will the reshuffle get Cabinet to get more decisive? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Unlikely.
Q. These reshuffles are not likely to anyway help in better results for Congress in the 2014 GE.your take on this? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. The reshuffle is aimed at relieving some central ministers for the states where they can play a more meaningful role. The question that should bother the Congress leadership is whether this exercise has been initiated too late for the party's comfort.
Q. Mallikarjun Kharge to get Railways as an alternate to state CM post, says media. How the two posts get equated - please enlighten? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Not clear if that is what the party's intention was.
Q. Textile,IT ministry vacated by DMK was lying on additional charge - what harm would have been there if it had continued so the end of UPA-2 term? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. No harm at all.
The reshuffle is just an exercise so that the ministerial seats will be kept warm. do you see a major significance in these? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. You are right.
Q. Do you agree that any strategy Congress put, Congress lead UPA III have better chance to win since NDA have capability to win not more than 130 seats across India. 91 from their 4 states and 35 from other area apart from their remaining alliance Shivsena and Akali. All other parties one or other way more comfortable with UPA than NDA? Asked by: Deepak Desai
A. Yes, NDA's big challenge would be to increase its tally, particularly after what Nitish Kumar has done to BJP in Bihar. So, the answer to your question would be clear from the kind of post or pre-poll alliances the Congress and the BJP manage to forge.
Q. Dear Sir,Do you think that Congress is silently working on strengthening its working team for 2014 election? Can we say that Congress is more organised than BJP? However it may not been known how successful Congress could be in 1014 elections. Asked by: Raaj
A. I think the move on Narendra Modi cannot be underestimated. It would, therefore, be wrong to assume that the Congress is more prepared and the BJP is not.
Q. Is it the assertion of the next gen, which always seem to me as a whole, more talented than the BJP? Asked by: Kamal
A. Your question is not clear.
Q. Why didn't they make Makan state unit president? Would it not have been a better choice? Asked by: Kamal
A. Lack of decisiveness, perhaps. A change of leadership in Delhi would have been a good move by the Congress. Maken was a good name and could have worked for the Congress the same way replacing Jyoti Basu with Buddhadeb Bhattacharji as the chief ministerial candidate in West Bengal had immensely helped the CPI-M.
Q. What does the Cabinet reshuffle say about Congress' poll plans? Asked by: fatima
A. Sending CP Joshi and Maken for party work suggests that the Congress wants to beef up itself in the states of Rajasthan and Delhi. Changing the poll manager for Andhra Pradesh suggests that it has at last woken up to the need for minimising the damages the party had sustained over the Telengana imbroglio.
Q. Do you think Nitish decision to left NDA indicate that third front has been secretly formed? Asked by: Alok
A. A Third Front is a possibility. But it is too early to say that it has been formed. Don't forget that Nitish Kumar may like to weigh his alliance options with the Congress, with the Centre having made some overtures to Bihar with allocation of special funds.
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