Rahul to put his stamp on cabinet

New Delhi: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will play a key role in the selection of new ministers when the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reshuffles his council of ministers next month.

The exercise, which aims at identifying a younger generation of politicians, has already started.

Singh said recently that he was planning a reshuffle and expansion of his council of ministers and that the emphasis would be on reducing the average age of federal ministers.

While Rahul himself is unlikely to join the government, the exercise is being seen as a way of preparing his team in advance of his taking over as prime minister. The need to groom a younger generation of leaders as ministers has come about because of the fact that Rahul is not comfortable dealing with leaders who have worked under his grandmother Indira Gandhi and his father Rajiv Gandhi. Speculation is rife within Congress party circles that Rahul Gandhi may take over as the next prime minister as early as July 2012.

High probability

President Pratibha Patil is due to retire on July 25, 2012, upon completion of her five-year tenure. And as a rule, Presidents are not offered a second term with the sole exception of the first president, Rajendra Prasad.

Congress party circles say that the probability of Singh being elected as the new President is quite high. "Age and health are not on his side. He [Singh] would be almost 80 by the time Patil retires. Since Rahul has to replace him someday, why wait until the 2014 general elections?" reasoned a Congress general secretary.

Singh heads an 87-member council of ministers, of which 56 belong to the Congress party. While some of the old guard may be moved to the party to work with Rahul's mother Sonia, the allies would also be asked to nominate younger leaders as ministers.