Sheila Dikshit may drop ministers in a bid to revamp administration

New Delhi: New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit may drop some of her ministers when she takes oath for a fresh five year tenure later this week.

Dikshit called on her Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi for a meeting to discuss the names for her council of ministers soon after she was unanimously elected leader of the newly-elected Congress Legislative Party (CLP) yesterday.

According to indications available, Dikshit may drop as many as four out of her six ministers in her bid to revamp the administration and get even with those who had rebelled against her at various times during the last five years.

Facing the axe

Incidentally, all six ministers have been re-elected to the new assembly which will have its first session starting December 16.

Dikshit is expected to take oath on Saturday or Sunday for a record third consecutive term.

Only Finance Minister Ashok Walia and Urban Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan may survive.

Walia has been the lone leader to have served as a minister for the entire 10 years Dikshit has been the Delhi chief minister, although he too in the past had spoken out against Dikshit and was in a way punished when the lucrative portfolios of Tourism and Urban Development were taken away from him.

Among those facing the axe include Transport Minister Haroon Yousuf, Health Minister Yoganand Shastri, Industries Minister Mangat Ram Singhal and Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.

New Delhi can have only seven ministers including the chief minister which is the maximum permissible 10 per cent of the total strength of the assembly.

Besides the four ministers facing axe, the assembly may also have new speaker and deputy speaker.

Incumbent speaker Chaudhary Prem Singh is likely to become a minister while his deputy Shoaib Iqbal may have to occupy one of the back benches after his refusal to join the Congress party.

Iqbal had won 2003 elections on the Janata Dal (Secular) ticket and this time he preferred to contest his Matia Mahal seat as a nominee of the Lok Janshakti Party.

It is not yet known if Sonia agreed to changes in the new council of ministers for New Delhi, although chances of her coming in the way of her close associate Dikshit are not high.

Earlier in the day, Dikshit was elected leader of the Congress Legislative Party unanimously with a little bit of drama.

All 41 newly elected Congress legislators attended the meeting at the state unit office at Rouse Avenue.

The meeting was chaired by the state unit president J.P. Aggarwal. Central observers Mohsina Kidwai and Pawan Kumar Basal were also present.

Dikshit's detractors tried to play games by suggesting that Sonia be authorised to name the new CLP leader. Sonia, however, rejected the proposal and asked CLP to elect its leader.

It is not yet known if Sonia agreed to changes in the new council of ministers ... although chances of her coming in the way of her close associate Dikshit are not high.