Rout aftermath: Reshuffle in State

MUMBAI, March 7: Before the five-week budget session of the Legislature begins on March 16, the state is likely to witness two major reshuff...

MUMBAI, March 7: Before the five-week budget session of the Legislature begins on March 16, the state is likely to witness two major reshuffles 8212; one in the Cabinet and the other in the bureaucracy.

The reason, expectedly, is the near-complete rout of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in the mid-term polls. The combine this time won just 10 out of the 48 seats as against the 33 it won in the last general elections.

Both Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Chief Minister Manohar Joshi had indicated last week that changes would be made in the Cabinet on the basis of the performance of the guardian ministers. quot;From the changes, you will know whether the minister worked during the mid-term polls for the party candidate or otherwise,quot; Joshi told mediapersons during his weekly briefing.

According to a senior Shiv Sena leader, both Thackeray and Joshi had undertaken a review of the performance of guardian ministers belonging to the Shiv Sena at a high-level meeting held at the Chief Minister8217;s officialresidence. quot;Assembly segment-wise votes polled by the Shiv Sena and BJP nominees were taken into consideration while discussing the performance,quot;the Sena leader pointed out.

A cursory glance at the votes polled revealed that in at least 13 assembly segments, the Congress-RPI-SP candidates got more votes than the Sena-BJP nominees. quot;If this is the norm, the alliance will have to drop at least 13 ministers. But I don8217;t think Joshi will resort to such a stern step on the eve of the budget session. Though he will certainly shuffle a few portfolios,quot; the Sena leader added.

The Sena-BJP combine is also likely to induct some more Independent legislators into the Cabinet. quot;We have five Independent legislators at the moment of which two to three of them will be inducted into the Cabinet as part of the reshuffle,quot; he said.

While the Sena is keen on bringing about major changes in the Cabinet, its electoral partner, the BJP, takes a different view of the situation. quot;I feel that in view of the surprisingly poorperformance, instead of dropping the Cabinet members, the alliance should woo Dalits and neo-Buddhists by inducting them into the Cabinet,quot; a senior BJP Minister told The Indian Express.

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The minister said that for the first time in the recent past, there was no representative of the neo-Buddhist community in the Cabinet. quot;As far as I know, there is only one neo-Buddhist legislator in the state. We feel he should be inducted into the Cabinet,quot; he said.

As for the reshuffle in the bureaucracy, Joshi has asked the General Administration Department to transfer all senior officials who have completed their two-year tenure. quot;If Joshi8217;s directives are implemented in letter and spirit, the alliance government will have to shift at least 54 officials of the rank of secretary and principal secretary,quot; a senior official said.

As part of the exercise, the government today shifted Textile Secretary Neela Satyanarayan to the Cultural Affairs department, Home Secretary P M A Hakeem to Textiles, MaharashtraAgro Industries Development Corporation chief executive Manmohan Singh to replace Suresh Chandra, chief executive of the Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation and Suresh Chandra in place of Hakeem.

However, there appears to be lack of consistency in the postings and transfers. Neela Satyanarayan completed a two-and-a-half-year stint in the Cultural Affairs Department. Also, M B Appalwar, posted to the GAD, will be the seventh official to occupy the post in less than 18 months.