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Cabinet reshuffle imminent in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: The Cabinet reshuffle in Haryana is imminent and is likely to take place after the election of the Vice-President of India, according to highly-placed sources here.

Besides filling up two vacant berths, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will have to also fill up the void created by the recent resignation of Education Minister Phool Chand Mullana who has been named to head the Haryana unit of the Congress.

Meanwhile, according to insiders, several MLAs have started ‘lobbying’ to wrest a Ministerial berth at least half way through Mr.Hooda’s tenure. Interestingly, those in the know of things say that one or two Ministers could also be dropped or their portfolios changed on the basis of “continuous assessment” of their performance.

It is also being said in Congress circles that former Power Minister Venod Sharma, a close and trusted friend of Mr.Hooda who had put in his papers last year for ‘personal reasons’, may be re-inducted in the Cabinet especially to woo the non-Jats and the Brahmins more so in the midst of reports that the Bahujan Samaj Party is trying to make inroads in Haryana.

The name of Mange Ram Gupta, a former Finance Minister and till recently a close associate of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, is also being mentioned in this connection. Interestingly, several Jat MLAs, politically close to Mr.Hooda, are also hopeful that they would be rewarded for their “loyalty.” However, the Chief Minister is not divulging his mind and is keeping the cards close to his heart.

Meanwhile, political observers say that the Congress High Command has acted wisely by appointing senior leader and former Education Minister Phool Chand Mullana, a Dalit, as President of the Haryana unit of the Congress in place of Mr.Bhajan Lal who had resigned last year.

They say that Mr.Mullana’s appointment could help in checking the exodus of party workers to the camp headed by suspended Congress MP, Kuldeep Bishnoi, younger son of Mr.Bhajan Lal.

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Cabinet reshuffle imminent in Haryana

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