Cong: Rebellion nipped in bud with reshuffle stroke

Barely a month after they talked of forming a pressure group of sorts within the UPA to take on their big brother Congress, smaller allies o...

Barely a month after they talked of forming a pressure group of sorts within the UPA to take on their big brother Congress, smaller allies of the coalition have been frustrated following selective sops for RJD and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha JMM8212;elevation of Laloo8217;s key associate Prem Chand Gupta to Cabinet rank and the JMM chief8217;s reinduction into the ministry.

A key figure behind the plan to form the group told The Indian Express today that the Congress had divided them. Gupta, considered closest to Laloo among RJD ministers, was disgruntled before the reshuffle. Now he will persuade Laloo to keep away from the earlier plan.

And, Soren8217;s single-point agenda of restoration of his ministerial berth being fulfilled, he, too, is happy.

Only NCP chief Sharad Pawar and TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who were trying to brew trouble, were left out.

Alarm bells rung for the Congress when Laloo, after discussions with Pawar and Rao, had said in December there was a need for them to club to see 8216;8216;how the CMP was implemented8217;8217; because they had to run the government for five years. Besides, Rao had also hinted at a meeting of smaller UPA partners in January and mentioned 8216;8216;lack of co-ordination8217;8217; between them and a need for review of the CMP.

Pawar was emerging as the nucleus of the group. Identifying himself with Rao8217;s demand for Telengana statehood, he had addressed a joint rally with him in Warangal last July.

Soren vented his feelings at a meeting of UPA saying that he was asked to quit to take up chief ministership of Jharkhand. 8220;But today, I am neither here nor there,8221; he had said.

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Laloo was keen on making his presence felt to overcome the demoralisation following his rout in the Bihar polls.

Seeing potential for trouble, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi have placated Laloo who has 23 MPs and JMM five MPs. Pawar and Rao, with their gameplan having been scuttled, are now left with no choice but wait for perhaps another round at another time.