Daddy long-reach

After having wrangled party tickets in the last Assembly elections,MLA wards of prominent Congress leaders belonging to Maharashtra are now eyeing ministerial berths. Five posts are vacant and Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is under pressure from aspirants to accommodate them,including Rajendra Shekhawat son of President Pratibha Patil; Praniti Shinde daughter of Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde; and Amit Deshmukh son of Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. That all three are first-time MLAs has not stopped them from lobbying with the powers that be in the Capital. Last week,two of them were seen in and around Parliament seeking appointments with top Congress brass. Others seeking to be made ministers include PCC chief Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief Kripashankar Singh.