Hooda,Cabinet halted half way

Eleven days after he took oath as Haryana chief minister,Bhupinder Singh Hooda looks no closer to having a Cabinet.

Eleven days after he took oath as Haryana chief minister,Bhupinder Singh Hooda looks no closer to having a Cabinet. After an entire day of talks in Delhi,with senior leaders haggling over ministerial berths,the swearing-in,tentatively slated for Friday,was again put off.

Hooda had reached the airport to catch a return flight to Chandigarh,with an approved list of ministers ostensibly in his pocket,when he was summoned back to meet Sonia Gandhi late in the afternoon as senior leaders continued to knock on the high commands doors.

According to sources,differences on names as well as the dilemma over how and where to adjust the Independents who are supporting Hooda unconditionally blocked a solution. Another important factor is the Congress high commands hope of clinching a deal with Haryana Janhit Congress chief Kuldeep Bishnoi,who is still holding out on the party over a merger. The exercise of expansion is on hold because of Kuldeep and not because of us, a senior party leader said.

Aware of the Congress desperation,Bishnoi has offered support,even from outside,to strike a hard bargain. In return for a merger,he has set a high price for himself. His demands include deputy chief ministership for self and at least two ministerial berths for his MLAs. Hooda is resistant to the idea of the emergence of a parallel centre of power in his ministry,but unfortunately for him,his stock has gone down following the partys poorer-than-expected poll performance.

According to sources,the Congress high command is inclined to accept most of Bishnois demands for a stable government. Therefore,it feels it is pointless to fill some slots now and then explore avenues for accommodating new entrants to the party.

As far as the choice from among Congress MLAs is concerned,several names are doing the rounds. They include Ajay Yadav,Kiran Chaudhary,Gita Bhukkal and Savitri Jindal. Two probable names from amongst the Independents are Jaleb Khan and Gopal Kanda. There is total uncertainty over two heavyweights Randeep Surjewala and Venod Sharma,both former ministers.

Sources said that another name on which there has been much debate is that of former finance minister Sampat Singh. While senior leaders opposed his inclusion,Hooda wants him in to send the message that he took care of those who quit their parties to join the Congress at his behest.