Polls ahead,all 20 NCP ministers submit resignations to Sharad Pawar

The resignations indicated NCPs shift to election mode,with Pawar likely intending to weed out non-performing ministers to refurbish the party image ahead of the assembly and Lok Sabha polls. With an eye on a double-digit tally in the Lok Sabha,Pawar would possibly like to pull out some ministers and perhaps replace the Maharashtra NCP chief Madhukar Picchad,who might get a berth in the cabinet,sources said.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the NCP resignations were an internal matter of their party. He added that the Congress did not intend to carry out a similar shuffling of responsibilities; he did not,however,rule out the possibility of expanding his ministry in the coming days.

Among the ministers who are likely to face the axe are Minister of State for Transport Gulabrao Deokar,Minister for Water Resources Krishna Valley Corporation Ramraje Nimbalkar and Minister for Tribal Welfare Babanrao Pachpute,sources said. They said the senior Pawar may not be willing to give Ajit Pawar a free hand in rejigging responsibilities,and was likely to personally consider regional and caste issues.

Among the senior ministers who could contest the Lok Sabha elections are Chhagan Bhujbal,Ganesh Naik,Jaidutta Kshirsagar,Babanrao Pachpute,Rajesh Tope,Jayant Patil and Fauzia Khan.

Meanwhile,former chief minister Ashok Chavan and Maharashtra ministers Shivajirao Moghe and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday. Developments in the NCP are likely to spur demands for a shuffling of responsibilities in the MPCC and state government as well. Three ministerial berths are currently lying vacant from the Congresss quota of 22.