LS Will House 150 Criminals

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Publication: Times Of India Mumbai; Date:2009 May 18; Section:Dance Of Democracy; PageNumber: 11

LS will house 150 criminals

22% Rise In MPs With Cases Against Them, Mrashtra 2nd On ListTeam TOI

New Delhi: Prominent dons as well as wives of many convicted politicians may have bitten thedust at the hustings but many tainted personalities have still managed to make it to the 15thLok Sabha.

An analysis of the affidavits filed by contestants reveals that there has been a 22% increase

in MPs with criminal cases compared with those elected in 2004. About 150 newly elected MPs

have criminal cases pending against them. These include 73 who have serious charges under

various counts of the IPC.

According to poll watch group National Election Watch, which conducted the analysis, the BJP

has the maximum MPs (42) with criminal cases pending against them. It is closely followed by

the Congress with 41. The SP comes third with eight such MPs while the BSP has six.

UP has elected most MPs (31) with criminal cases against them, while Maharashtra comes

second with 23. They are followed by Bihar (17), Andhra Pradesh (11), Gujarat (11), Karnataka

(9)e and West Bengal and Tamil Nadu with seven each.

Topmost on the list of prominent personalities with criminal cases who lost the polls are: AtiqAhmad of the Apna Dal, UP; Vijay Shukla of the JD(U), Bihar; Mitrasen of SP, UP and Akhilesh

Singh, Independent, who fought from Nawada, Bihar. Dinesh Rathour, another Independent

candidate who fought from Araria in Bihar, tops the losers chart prepared on the basis of the

number of IPC cases filed against these individuals.

Giving out other details about the polls, National Election Watch, a body comprising ex-IIM

professors and ex-CEC J M Lyngdoh, stated that 369 parties contested the polls, of which only

36 parties were successful in sending at least one MP into the Lok Sabha. Of these, 19 parties

have three or less MPs.

TOP 10-TED MEN

Jagdish Sharma: Jehanabad (Bihar), JD(U)

Bal Kumar Patel: Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh), SP

Prabhatsinh P Chauhan:

Panchmahal (Gujarat), BJP

Kapil Muni Karwariya: Phulpur (UP), BSP

P Karunakaran: Kasaragod (Kerala) , CPM

Lalu Prasad: Saran (Bihar), RJD

Kunvarjibhai M Bavaliya: Rajkot (Gujarat), Cong

Vitthalbhai H Radadiya: Porbandar (Gujarat) Cong

Varun Gandhi: Pilibh it (UP) , BJP

Chandrakant R Patil: Navsari (Gujarat), BJP

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Publication: Times Of India Mumbai; Date:2009 May 28; Section:Front Page; Page Number:1

29 Freshers In Team Manmohan

UP Has No CabinetMinister, Ktaka Highest Mantri To MP RatioTIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Team Manmohan is finally in place. After three days and several rounds ofbrainstorming, the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi finalised a team of 78 at around noon onWednesday, clearing the way for the second stage of government formation which will see no

less than 59 ministers take the oath of office on Thursday.

As the calls began to go outsome by both the PM and Soniato the ones that had made it,

a buzz grew about surprise exclusions and inclusions. After seeking to work through conflicting

claims, Singh and Sonia have delivered a package that holds 29 freshers and nine ex-CMs (in

some cases like that of Vilasrao Deshmukh, they overlap). It also matches loyalty with

experience

and political equations and seeks to ensure that merit doesnt get short shrift.

The government wont have oldtime loyalists H R Bhardwaj and Arjun Singh, Jat veteran Sis

Ram Ola, and outgoing ministers Saifuddin Soz and Ashwini Kumar.

With 33 ministers of cabinet rank, seven MOS with independent charge and 38 MoS, there is

scarcely any space for more as the size of the council ofministers cannot cross 81. In otherwords, there can at best be just three more. For those who are in, its now a tense wait for

portfolios, while for the rejects, it is a case of heartburn that some may give voice to in the next

few days.

If there was some puzzlement over why, despite a resounding mandate, the Congress brass

took so long to draw up the ministry, the answers may lie in the choices that had to be made.

Take the case of ex-Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh who, given his seniority, may land an

important portfolio despite proving to be incapable of handling crisis situations, as 26/11

proved. This is because he is seen as a Maratha leader capable of countering a Congress friend-

rivalNCP chief Sharad Pawar.

An assembly election looms in Maharashtra in a few months and Congress ministers from

the state like Sushilkumar Shinde, Gurudas Kamat, Murli Deora and Mukul Wasnik are all non-

Marathas. And Deshmukh can talk tough.

Similarly, why induct ex-Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh when the tiny state has a

cabinet minister in Anand Sharma? Well, Sharma was rewarded for loyalty. But this would

have left Virbhadra and the Thakursan important caste in Himachalin the cold.

The caste matrix can make your head spin, but another poser is why theres not a single

cabinet minister from UP even when the Congresss bid to revive itself there seem to be paying

off. Consider the dilemmahow to pick the suave Salman Khursheed over Sriprakash Jaiswal,

who has now won thrice in a row. Beni Prasad Varma has just crossed over from the SP and it

may not be right to select him just yet.Congress campaign lynchpin Jairam Ramesh has come inhe is efficient and innovative and

one of the fewclose to Rahul Gandhi.

PM on TV: Thanks, India

The tough task of distributing ministerships out of the way on Thursday, PM Manmohan Singh is

expected to go on television soon to thank the Indian voter for giving the Congress a

comfortable mandate to form a stable government. The address, which is slotted for TV before

parliament assembles on June 1, is likely to include references to his agenda for governance.

TNN P10

MEET YOUR MINISTERS

Page 1 of 529 Freshers In Team Manmohan



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23% or 1 of every 4 UPA MP s are ministers Karnataka has highest ratio of 36% in big

states; 4 out of 11 MP s (LS + RS) Kerala has ratio of 32% : 6 mantris out of 19 MPs

W Bengal has 30% ratio, with TMC and Cong getting 8 mins of 27 MPs

TN has 26% due to DMK; 9 ministers of 35 UPA MPs

Delhi has best-ever ratio of 30% with 3 of 10 MPs

Maharashtra closer to national average w ith 25% ratio 9 out of 36 MP s

Haryana worst off with 8% 1 min out of 12 MPs

The new-look ministry is a skillful balancing act of regional, caste and gender considerations.Efficiency helps, and party loyalty doesnt hurt

CABINET MINISTERS

Virbhadra Singh | LS: 3-time CM is a Rajput and with Anand Sharma, a Brahmin, takes care

of two big Himachal communitiesVilasrao Deshmukh | LS: Maratha leader, counterweight to Pawar

Farooq Abdullah | LS: Cements the alliance between Rahul and Omar

Mallikarjun Kharge | LS: Dalit from Karnataka, politically effective

Kumari Selja | LS: Dalit, but combines efficiency with right political credentials

Subodh K Sahay | LS: Only one to win from Jharkhand where polls are a year away

Paw an K Bansal | LS: Is efficient, loyal and tenacious. A good organizer too M S Gill | RS:

Likely to get sports again; for Commonwealth Games may be to Rahul what Buta was to Rajeev

for Asian Games

Mukul Wasnik | LS: Dalit, organization man, will be useful in coming Maharashtra polls

Kantilal Bhuria | LS: Tribal from MP. Strong political leader G K Vasan | RS: WithChidambaram, second Cong minister from TN. Is politically effective Dayanidhi Maran | LS:

DMK quota, Karuna's grand-nephew. May get textiles M K Azhagiri | LS: DMK quota, Karuna's

son. May be chemicals & fertilizers mantri A Raja | LS: DMK quota, Dalit leader, likely to getcommunications

MoS INDEPENDENT CHARGE

Prithviraj Chauhan | RS: Scores high on loyalty

Salman Khursheed | LS: Muslim from UP. Efficient and loyal

Sriprakash Jaiswal | LS: Seniormost MP from Uttar Pradesh. Very loyal

Praful Patel | LS: NCP quota. May get civil aviation again

Dinsha Patel | LS: 6-time MP is a big Patel neta from Guj

Jairam Ramesh | RS: Close to Rahul. Efficient and an organization man

Krishna Tirath | LS: Dalit woman leader is sharp, politically savvy

MoS

Shashi Tharoor | LS: Missed UN, gets jr ministerSachin Pilot | LS: Only Gujjar minister in

team Jitin Prasada | LS: May go off to head UP Cong Jyotiraditya Scindia | LS: May be

unhappy that he didnt get independent charge R P N Singh | LS: From UP, close to RahulPradeep Jain | LS: Close to Rahul, organized Bundelkhand tour Arun Yadav | LS: Only Yadav

minister Sisir Adhikari | LS: TMC quota, from Nandigram Gurudas Kamat | LS: Lost out to

Wasnik Harish Rawat | LS: Uttarakhand leader, might be a bit disappointed Ajay Maken |

LS: Fails to get independent charge Mahadev Khandela | LS: Only Jat in ministry




5/11

There are 26 more MoS, including NTRs daughter D Purandesw ari, Amrinder Singhs

wife Preneet Kaur, Madhavsinh Solanki's son Bharatsinh Solanki and P A Sangmas

daughter Agatha, who is I ndias youngest minister at 28

Mukul Roy | RS E Ahamed | LS V Narayanasamy | LS Srikant Jena | LS M Ramachandran | LS P

Lakshmi | LS K H Muniyappa | LS N N Meena | LS A Sai Prathap | LS M M Pallam Raju | LS Prof

K V Thomas | LS Saugata Ray | LS Dinesh Trivedi | LS Sultan Ahmed | LS Mohan Jatua | LS S S

Palanimanickam| LS D Napoleon | LS S Jagathrakshakan | LS S Gandhiselvan | LS B Solanki |

LS T Chaudhary | LS Arun Yadav | LS Prateek P Patil | LS Vincent Pala | LS

Gill gets cabinet rank, to retain charge of sports

New Delhi: Ending suspense, PM Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on

Wednesday finalised names of 59 new ministers who will join the Union Cabinet on Thursday.

R P N Singh and Pradeep Jain come in as junior ministers and are said to be close to Congress

general secretary Rahul Gandhi as is Jitin Prasada. Another young minister with promise is

Sachin Pilot. He is also the only Gujjar in Manmohans team.Its not such a surprise that M S Gill is a cabinet minister , most certainly in charge of sports.

A number of things worked for him. He came in towards the fag end of the previous

government and could not be dropped. He is seen to have shown a sense of purpose and is a

key figure in Delhis Commonwealth Games. The ministry may need an additional pair ofhandsan MoS as well, which it can get after being put under a cabinet minister . Equations

with the PMO also helped.

Two Muslim ministers from J&K call for an explanation. Ghulam Nabi Azad is senior and a

very experienced politico. The NCs Farooq Abdullah is no great shakes as an administrator but

is an ally and the Congress brass felt the need to have a Kashmiri outfit represented in the

cabinet. Perhaps Rahul Gandhis equations with J&K CM Omar Abdullah were also in play.

Farooq may be designated minister without portfolio.

Then, why pick Mallikarjun Kharge when you already have two cabinet ministers from

Karnataka, which elected just six Congress MPs? Kharge became a necessity as he is a Mala

(Dalit) while ex-CM Veerappa Moily is an OBC and external affairs minister S M Krishna is a

non-backward Vokkaliga. Kolar MP Muniyappa is also a Dalit and has made the grade but he is

from another subcaste, Madiga, spread across the state and political prudence demands

balancing both the Malas (Kharge) and the Madigas.

There is one Jat in the teamMahadev Khandela. The winner from Sikar, he has been

inducted as an MoS and is seen to have potential. Then, after Lalu Prasads colourful presence

in the previous ministry, there are no Yadavs in the cabinet either. The lone Yadav is an MoS

Arun Yadav. Subodh Kant Sahay is the only Congress MP from Jharkhand and elections are not

too far. Charan Das Mahant is the sole victor from Chhattisgarh but though elections are far off,

the state cannot be seen as having been abandoned. G K Moopanars son G K Vasan is an

organisation man from Tamil Nadu, a quality not associated with P Chidambaram. Also with

several stalwarts like Mani Shankar Aiyar, Thanga Balu and Elangovan losing, Vasan made the

cut.

Maharashtras Mukul Wasnik returns to government after 13 years. His organisational skills,

perseverence and loyalty have paid off. Haryanas Selja, a Dalit, has made steady progress. She

was first inducted as junior minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government and is now in thecabinet. The threat of the BSP in Haryana is a potent consideration.

Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal is all sincerity and tenacity. When people junior to him

were getting cabinet berths, he could not have been allowed to languish. TNN




6/11

V Deshmukh

Farooq

S Khursheed

J Ramesh

M S Gill

Selja




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S Tharoor




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TIMESNATION| KNOW YOUR MINISTERS * THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAISATURDAY, MAY 23, 200916

Manmohan Singh Has Chosen His A-Team. A Look At Some Of The Key Power Players Who Will Shape Indias Policies

INDIAS PREMIER LEAGUEA K Antony | 69ASSETS | Rs 0.17cr

EDUCATION | LLB (Ernakulam)

AK Antony has been CM of Kerala four times.In 1977,hebecame the youngest CM of this highly literate coastalstate. Born into a poor Syrian Christian family, Antony

lost his father early and self-financed his education throughodd jobs. A practising atheist,he has had many a run-in with

the powerful church in Kerala. He enjoys Sonia Gandhis trustas much for his tough efficiency as for his incorruptible record.

Indeed, it was St Antonythat helped the party power throughin this election, when allegations surrounding the missile dealwith Israel threatened to send it skidding. Armour-plated by hisreputation, Antony was a valued Raksha Mantri in UPA gov-ernment, and one untainted by the sleaze of multi-million de-fence deals. His first stint in the Cabinet was under NarasimhaRao when he briefly held the office of civil supplies, consumeraffairs and public distribution. Low-key, Antony is a good lis-tener but often criticised for not being decisive enough.

Ambika Soni | 65ASSETS | Rs 7.5cr

EDUCATION | BA (Delhi University)

The stylish Soni is known to be extremely well organisedand receptive to new ideas. As tourism minister, shelaunched the Incredible India charm offensive, which

substantially bumped up the backpacker flow. Her remarksover the Ram Sethu got her into a spot of bother. A Sonia Gand-

hi loyalist and disciplined party worker, Soni has an under-stated aesthetic and has recently developed a taste for Raghu-rajour pattchitras.

Kapil Sibal | 60ASSETS | Rs 32 cr

EDUCATION | LLM (Harvard)

Like the young Varun Gandhi of the BJP, Kapil Sibal is apublished poet. While the quality of verse in both casesis rather strained (Sibal composes on his Blackberry), the

two poets part company here. Secular and sophisticated, Sibalsstyle is a far throw from Varuns immature posturing. A daybefore counting day, he said, The secular credentials of par-ties will be decided after the results are out.

As it turned out, parties werent put to the test. Sibal him-self coasted in from Delhi's Chandni Chowk with two lakhvotes between him and the next man. Genial,articulate andcomfortable on television, the doting grandfather of an eight-month-old insists the baby bawls when Dadu disappears fromthe TV screen. After his first wife, a successful IFS officer,died, he remarried. In 1991,he joined Congress and fought hisfirst election from South Delhi in 1996, only to lose to BJP'sSushma Swaraj.He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1998, butkeen to prove his electoral mettle,Sibal fought the Lok Sabhaelection from Chandni Chowk in 2003. He won, was named min-ister for science and technology, and delivered.Hands-on, the

hot shot lawyers style is brisk and to the point.

SM Krishna | 77ASSETS | Rs 3cr

EDUCATION | LLB (Bangalore)

It could be coincidence or it could be destiny, but So-manahalli in Mandya district in Karnataka has giventhe state two chief ministers Kengal Hanumantha-

iah and S M Krishna. When Krishna was two years old,his hometown was visited by Gandhiji,who asked the lit-tle boy for his gold earrings for the freedom fund. This

early encounter remains one of Krishnas proud-est memories.

Under his watch (1999 to 2004), Bangalore wastransformed from a quiet city to India's silicon valley

and a magnet for tech talent. However, his focus onBangalore to the exclusion of all else cost him the ru-

ral vote and the Congress was sent packing in the 2004

assembly elections.A seasoned politician, he has held a variety of posts

from CM and Union minister, to Speaker, KPCC presi-dent and,most recently, governor of Maharashtra.Thelatter was considered a ceremonial punishment postingfor an active politician. As governor,he was at constant loggerheads with the NCP and theShiv Sena. The tennis buff was also criticised for spending more time at the French Open inParis than in Raj Bhavan. It was well known that he hankered to return to the hustle of Kar-nataka politics,where the Congress was in a shambles.

He did go back but wasn't given a free hand and Congress lost the 2008 assembly elections.Krishna belongs to the powerful Vokkaliga community. A dapper epicurean who prac-

tises yoga, he likes to read and dress designer. As governor, he opposed the state govern-ments campaign to shut down Mumbai's dance bars.

Murli Deora | 72ASSETS | Rs 35cr

EDUCATION | BA (Mumbai University)

The industrialist and so-cial worker-turned-politi-cian began his innings

from the Bombay MunicipalCorporation way back in 1968when he was elected corpora-tor. Later, in 1977, Deora waselected mayor of Mumbai withShiv Senas support. Known forhis close relations with politi-cians of all political parties,the arts graduate first contest-ed the Lok Sabha polls from

Mumbai South constituency in1980 but lost to the Janata Par-ty's Ratansingh Rajda though,in the subsequent election, De-ora defeated BJP's Jayawan-tiben Mehta by a huge margin.

He was re-elected in 1989, 1991 but lost toMehta in 1996 and 1999 before his son,Milind,defeated Mehta to go to the Lok Sabha fromthe same constituency in 2004.

Deora is a trusted aide of the Gandhi fam-ily in Mumbai. He was elected to the RajyaSabha in 2004 and was inducted in the union

cabinet as petroleum minister in January2006. His high point was countering the oil-mens strike with an iron fist, breaking hisimage as a soft person.

He did his bit to shield consumers fromthe impact of oils high run,but couldnt stopstate-run oil companies from going into the

red for the first time, posting historical quar-terly losses.

Appointment of ONGC chairman also be-came controversial. Deora, who has literal-ly ruled the Mumbai Congress forwell over a decade, is closely associated withthe Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan and the IndianRed Cross Socie ty.

Pranab Mukherjee | 73ASSETS | Rs 2.7cr

EDUCATION | LLB, D.Litt (Calcutta University)

Mukherjee was the man for all reasons in the previous cabi-net.Head of over 50 GOMs, he could justifiably be accusedof actually running the government. His greatest quality is

that almost every political party,however much they dislike theCongress, always boast of excellent relations with him.

Having been in government for virtually half a century, Mukherjeehas handled pretty much every ministry under the sun except thecrucial home ministry, a prize that has eluded him because of a per-ceived lack of trust by the first family. In the last government,he wasthe only one the difficult Left leaders would trust, to the extent thatMukherjee became the target of a whisper campaign that said he wasuncomfortably close to the Reds.

Yet,Mukherjee commands awesome respect, and in the fighting forministerial berths, the buzz in the Congress high command was thatMukherjee could get pretty much what he wanted. In many ways,Mukherje e is now above it all, but it would probably be a fitting trib-

ute if he could present the most crucial budget that could lift Indiaout of the economic crisis.A multi-tasker,he is meticulous and lovedby bureaucrats because of his deep understanding of the brambledworld of red tape. Has been part of more than a hundred GoMs. This,combined with a phenomenal memory which helps him rememberpeople and the nitty gritty of his ministry, and you know why he is aworkhorse of government.Though appreciative of reforms,he is alsoa believer in the role of the state in terms of control and regulation.

SharadPawar | 69ASSETS | Rs 8.7cr

EDUCATION | B.Com (Pune University)

In his political career spanning wellover five-and-a-half decades,69-year-old Sharad Pawar was not only chief

minister for four terms but also had therare distinction of holding that post atthe young age of 38.A commerce grad-uate from Pune university, Pawar wasfirst elected to the assembly in 1967 andhas never since been defeated.

In 1972, he took over the reins of thehome and food and civil supplies statein his capacity as minister of state andheld all key portfolios, including edu-cation, agriculture, industries,labourand youth welfare. A former presidentof Congress (S), Pawar was elected toLok Sabha from his home constituency

Baramati in 1984 by the highest marginbut quit Lok Sabha the following year.

He was again elected to Parliamentin 1991 and given the defence ministry.But he returned to state politics in 1993,elected to the Maharashtra LegislativeCouncil and appointed CM in the af-termath of the serial bomb blasts. Fol-

lowing the debacle of Congress in the1995 assembly polls,Pawar returned tonational politics as the leader of Oppo-sition. When Sonia Gandhi assumed thereins of Congress,Pawar resigned from

the party over her nationality issueand set up NCP. In the 2009 LS polls,while he projected himself as a PMcan-didate,his party won just eight seats inMaharashtra.

Ghulam NabiAzad | 60ASSETS | Rs 85L

EDUCATION | Msc (Kashmir University)

Azad rose in Congress politics in the1970s as a Sanjay Gandhi follower.Trusted by the Gandhi family, the

ambitious man from the Doda regionof Jammu and Kashmir climbed the lad-ders fast.Backed by Indira Gandhi,Azadonce won a Lok Sabha election from Ma-

harashtra.A grassroots politician,he has a keen

sense of a battle on the ground.He is nota big-picture man who like some of his

smarter party colleagues can both defend and define banknationalisation and economic reforms in the same breath.

But he can outsmart the opponents and beat them in theirown game. A trusted confidant, he has been deputed manytimes by the party leadership on difficult fire-fighting as-signments. When Rajiv Gandhi was jolted out of his dream

run as Prime Minister,Azad was the firstminister to quit the cabinet and joinedthe party organisation as a generalsecretary. At the peak of Punjab mili-tancy, he launched a peace campaignin the troubled state, organisingpublic meetings in some of the most dan-gerous places.

After three years as Jammu and Kash-mir chief minister, he is back to the cen-

tre-stage of Congress politics. A hard-nosed man known for breathing politics,

his image is that of an able administra-tor who lacks finesse.

Kamal Nath | 63ASSETS | Rs 14cr

EDUCATION | BCom (St Xaviers College,Calcutta)

The Doon tag brought him close to RajivGandhi as well and when the youngPrime Minister faced a major challenge

from V P Singh in 1987, Kamal Nath movedin as one of his close advisors.Pragmatic andendowed with a talent for easy adaptability,he survived the Narasimha Rao years at thehelm of the environment ministry with asmuch skill as commerce in later years.An ac-

cused in the hawala scam and defeat of wifeAlka as his stand-in from the family bor-

ough of Chhindwara marked the lowestpoint in his political career. His subse-

quent acquittal and return to the Lok Sabhastrengthened his CV as one of the few Con-gress ministers who can contest and win elec-tions at a time when Congress had few such.

Nath, who has won eight elections fromthe tribal constituency of Chhindwara, wasin 2004 assigned the job of projecting the coun-trys free-market image to the world. As com-merce minister, he upheld Indias cause vig-orously at the WTO talks. It was one of thehigh points in his years as minister. He pushed

aside opposition to open doors to give a fillipto FDI flow, chased big export targets.Infused with tremendous energy, he is a

big picture man, would like to delegate thedetails to bureaucrats but can intervene whenrequired.He has two children. Scion of a bigbusiness family, Kamal Nath rose in Congresspolitics as a member of Sanjay Gandhis groupof storm-troopers in the years leading to theEmerge ncy.

P Chidambaram | 63ASSETS | Rs 10cr

EDUCATION | LLB (Chennai), MBA(Harvard)

Methodical and prompt,Chidambar am believes that thedevil is in the detail. Knows his onions whether it ishigh finance or terrorist dossiers and is at home in

the world. He has a wealth of experience and became minis-ter in 1985 as part of Rajiv Gandhis young team. Rose to star-dom as finance minister in the UF govt, when in 1996-97, hewas lauded for his Dream Budget.

Always comes well prepared to Parliament, where he isknown as a suave orator. Has won laurels for his hard-nosedhandling of the home ministry which was thrust on him af-ter the Mumbai terror siege. Has a fondness for quoting theTamilian poet Tiruvalluvar in his budget speeches.H e has en-tered Lok Sabha from Sivaganga constituency for a seventhterm this time, the first time was as party MP in 1984.A lawyerby profession, Chidambaram did his schooling and college(BSc and LLB) from Chennai.His big break as a cabinet min-

ister (Union finance minister) came in 1996 when he quitCongress. He made it to acabinet post as a member

of TMC. His f inance

ministry stint wasover in Decemberlast year when inthe aftermath of

26/11, he had tojoin the home

ministry.

FINE-NUANCE MINISTER : Will Pranab Mukherjee walk in with the budget this year?

HANDS-ON: P Chidambaram

DETECTING PAWAR AMBITIONS: Sharad Pawar

ITS A SONI MOMENT: Ambika Soni with Sanjay Gandhi

SPIN DOCTOR: Kapil Sibal

MILEAGE MAN: Murli Deora and his wife with Lyndon Johnson

DEFENDING DAD: A K Antony with son

ANOTHER GOOD SERVE: S M Krishna

HANGING ON: Ghulam Nabi Azad

WORLD ISHIS STAGE


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TIMESNATION| KNOW YOUR MINISTERS 13THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI **FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

AIMING HIGH: Azhagiri will clear the path for Stalin in Chennai

STAR POWER: Subodh Kant Sahay (right) with actorsMahima Chaudhary and Ronit Roy during an election rally

YOUNGER DAYS: Virbhadra Singh

Balancing Caste And Region Has Resulted In A Jumbo-Sized Council Of Ministers. And The Hard Work Has Just Begun

A GIANT GOVT FOR INDIA

The DMK strongman in southernTamil Nadu,Azhagiri till recentlywas perceived to be the only ob-

stacle to his younger brother M K Stal-in's taking over the mantle of chief min-istership in Tamil Nadu.

However, suddensibling bonhomie atthe DMK chiefsGopalapuram residence has promptedthis relentless Stalin baiter to set hissights on the powerhouse in Delhi.It ap-pears his march to Delhi will clear thepolitical roadblock for Stalin, the peren-nial prince-in-waiting. With DMKs suc-cessive triumphs in its weak terrain ofsouth Tamil Nadu, Azhagiris clout in

the party is on the rise.Azhagiri,who moved to Madurai in1980 to start an edition of the party or-gan,Murasoliin the temple town,tookon party seniors in southern TamilNadu and emerged a power centre. He

was arrested in con-nection with the mur-der of a former DMK

minister, T Kiruttinan during the erst-while Jayalalithaa regime, but was ac-quitted last year by a court in Chittoor.The CMs elder son had never held a par-ty post and was only recently rewardedwith the post of south zone organisingsecretary after the hat-trick victories inbypolls in Madurai district.

M K Azhagiri | 58CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

EDUCATION | Graduate ASSETS | Rs19.4cr

G K Vasan | 44SHIPPING

EDUCATION | Graduate (Chennai)

Vasan may just have the qual-ifying age to represent theyouthful facet of the Cabi-

net. But he is neither an aggressiveturf warrior nor a techie like someother young faces in Congress.

With his slow gait and suavemanners,he is like his famous fa-ther, G K Moopanar, who workedhis way up in the party ladder withhis back-room manoeuvres. Butunlike his father, Vasan nurseslofty ambitions and lobbies hardfor positions.

Two years ago, Vasan gave upthe post of the Tamil Nadu Con-gress president to join Manmohans ministry, though, in a little-known portfolio of statistics.After Chidambarams exit from TMCand Moopanar's death in August 2001, Vasan took over the man-tle and steered the regional outfit back to the Congress fold.

Mallikarjun MKharge | 67LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT

EDUCATION | BA, LLB ASSETS | Rs5.1cr

ADalit leader and socialist, Kharge start-ed his political career as a studentleader in the Government Arts College

in Gulbarga. He practised law before enter-ing the political arena.

A debutante to Lok Sabha,Kharge has held

the record of winning continuously from Gur-mitkal assembly constituency in Gulbarga dis-trict from 1972 to 2004.In 2008, he had to changehis constituency to Chitapur as Gurmitkalwas dereserved under delimitation.A CM-in-waiting whenever aCongress governmenthas been formed in Kar-nataka, he was dejected when the party lostbadly in the 2008 elections.

He has been steadfast in his loyalty to theCongress and has kept himself clear of po-litical controversies.

Mukul Wasnik | 50SOCIAL JUSTICE & EMPOWERMENT

EDUCATION | MBA

ASSETS | Rs31 Lakh

Mukuls main qualification is that he is theson of veteran MP Balkrishna Wasnik,who was elected from reserved Buldhana

parliamentary constituency in the backward Vi-darbha region. He was first elected to the LokSabha from Buldhana in 1984,when he was theyoungest Member of Parliament. In the subse-quent election in 1989,he lost to Sukhdev Kale.

He wrested the seatin 1991,only to lose itin 1996 and again winin 1998. Wasnik lost the 2004 election to ShivSenas Anandrao Adsul. Following delimitation,he shifted from Buldhana to Ramtek,a reservedconstituency in Nagpur region. A good organ-izer, Wasnik was the president of the NationalStudents Union of India and also minister ofstate for human resources under Rajiv Gandhi.

Is articulate and can work hard.His extensive experience in Par-liament, where he has been chief

whip of Congress,is a bonus.As min-ister of state for financehe has had an exposureto a key ministry work-ing with P Chidambaram and PranabMukherjee.

He was a member of various Par-liamentary committees includingthe famous Cash-for-Query Com-mittee, which was formed after asting operation showing parliamen-tarians accepting money on camera

for asking questions in Parliament.He has also held various positions atdifferent levels in the Congress andhas been member in many Joint Par-

liamentary Committeeslike Indian MedicalCouncil (Amendment)

Bill, Central Vigilance CommissionBill,1999 etc.

A confidant of the Gandhi fami-ly, Bansal was re-elected to the 15thLok Sabha for the fourth time in 2009.Soft spoken and a suave politician,60-year old Bansal is a graduate inscience and law.

Pawan Kumar Bansal | 60PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

EDUCATION | LLB (Panjab University) ASSETS | Rs3.8cr

Virbhadra Singh | 75STEEL

EDUCATION | PG (Delhi University)

ASSETS | Rs22.5cr

Thrice chief minister of HimachalPradesh,the Kullu royal family mem-ber has considerable administrative

experience.From the old school of politics,he fought his first Lok Sabha election in1962. He will be inclined to work cautious-ly but is a thorough worker.

A former Stephanian, he was theonly Congress leader to win from HimachalPradesh in the just-concluded LokSabha polls.

He defeated BJPsMaheshwar Singh bynearly 14,000 votes in the Mandi con-stituency. A Rajput leader from the Bushehrroyal family, Virbhadra was elected to theLower House of Parliament for the fifthtime. He has represented his constituencyin 1962, 1967, 1972 and 1980.

Subodh Kant Sahay | 58FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

EDUCATION | LLB (Ranchi) ASSETS | Rs2.3cr

This is his second con-secutive Lok Sabha termfrom Ranchi. As a stu-

dent politician,he was drawnto Jaiprakash Narayan in 1974.

Sahay was thrice MLA inBihar assem-bly and aJanata DalMP. From 1989 to 1991,he servedas minister of state, home af-fairs and then was Union min-ister of state,information andbroadcasting and home affairs.

In the earlier Cabinet, Sa-hay was in independent chargeof food processing industries.Sahay has been chairman ofthe non -aligned student andyouth organisation (NASYO)

and wasm e m b e r ,preparatory

committee of world youth fes-tival. He is married to an ac-tress. He has been elevatedfrom MoS to Cabinet in thesame ministr y.

REWARDING LOYALTY

MR AMBITIOUS

THE GOOD SON

THE VETERAN: Bansal with kin

M I N I S T E R S O F S T A T E

Jyotiraditya Scindia | 38COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

EDUCATION | MA, MBA (Harvard, Stanford)ASSETS | Rs14.9cr

The Gwalior kings coronation was helda few days after his father MadhavraoScindia died in an air crash in Sep-

tember 2001. Four months on, he contestedfrom Guna in a bypoll and won by more than450,000 votes. Re-elected to 14th LS, he wonthe seat again though his margin reduced to68,000 votes. Accommodated in ManmohanSingh government as minister of state.

After graduation, he interned in the UNEconomic Development Cell and had a stintas investment banker as well.One of the ear-ly young Turks,is known to be close to AICCgeneral secretary Rahul Gandhi.

D Napoleon | 46SOCIAL JUSTICE & EMPOWERMENT

EDUCATION | Graduate

ASSETS | Rs13.1cr

DNapoleon started learning the lessons ofpolitics from his uncle and state trans-port minister K N Nehru, when he was

his personal assistant. Napoleon subsequentlyemerged as a key person responsible for man-aging the partys propaganda and managed toget an MLA ticket to contest from Villivakkamassembly segment in 2001.He won the electionsat the peak of his career in Tamil filmdom.

Though he failed to repeat the success sto-ry in 2006 from the Mylapore assembly seg-ment falling within Chennai city, Napoleonmanaged to get the consent of the DMK highcommand to contest in the parliamentary elec-tions in 2009 from Peramblur constituency,which Union minister A Raja had earlier con-tested and won.

While his uncles fieldwork helped him to agreat extent, Napo-leons charisma as afilm actor, playing off-beat character roles, alsohelped him emerge suc-cessful from this back-ward constituency. A

multi-faceted personalitythat he is,Napoleon also bal-anced his political careerwith the filmdomand the informa-tion technologyc o m p a n i e sthat he wasrunning.

Shashi Tharoor | 53EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

EDUCATION | PhD (Tufts University) ASSETS | Rs20.4cr

F

ormer UN under-secretary general Shashi Tharoor

stunned political observers by winning from the Keralacapital by a margin of 99,998 votes. Born in London to

parents from Palakkad in Kerala, Tharoor completed his PhDat The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts Uni-versity, Massachusetts.His doctorate came at age 22,a Fletch-er record. Tharoor began his career with the UN in 1978, head-ing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees of-fice in Singapore. He rose to the rank of UN under-secretarygeneral in 2002 and was a strong contender for the post of UNsecretary-general when Kofi Annan demitted of fice.

A prolific writer, Tharoor is author of The Great IndianNovel and The Elephant, The Tiger and the Cellphone.

Agatha Kongkal Sangma | 28RURAL DEVELOPMENT

EDUCATION | MA (Nottingham University ), LLB ASSETS | Rs66.4lakh

Former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangmas daughter,AgathaSangma is the youngest min-

ister in India. The 28-year-old is alawyer, environmentalist and am-ateur photographer, who got a feelof grassroots politics trailing herfather during election campaigns.She has just won the Tura Lok Sab-ha seat for the second term.A lawgraduate registered with the Del-hi Bar Council, Agatha says shehas always been proud to be thedaughter of her illustrious father.

I have always been identified bymy surname Sangma,she says.Sheis the youngest from the politics-savvy Sangma family after her fa-ther and two elder brothers to haveentered into the electoral politics.

I am very environmentally con-scious and I would like to includewomen in the uplift of the envi-ronment, Agatha says addingshe has plans to make use of thetraditional skills of women,likeweaving and organic farming inthis regard.STARTING YOUNG: Agatha Sangma with father P A Sangma

THE AUTHOR

Sachin Pilot | 31COMMUNICATIONS & IT

EDUCATION | MBA (Pennsylvania Univ) ASSETS | Rs4.6cr

He made a mark in his con-stituency Dausa in 2004 asan effective administrator

and a leader with a vision.The Wharton Business School

MBA started young, entering pol-itics for the first time in 2004 andbecoming part of the electoral frayas a 26-year-old.

The Gujjar leader won Dausaby 1.2 lakh votes, his father lateRajesh Pilots seat for five consec-utive terms.

He has been a member of Par-

liament's standing committee onhome affairs,also a member of theconsultative committee in the min-istry of civil aviation.

Education in rural areas is a

priority for him and he runs a trustthat provides monthly pensions tophysically and mentally chal-lenged and other underprivileged.Pilot has a professional pilots li-cense and plays squash.

Sachin is married to NationalConference leader Farooq Abul-lahs daughter Sarah.THE PROFESSIONAL: Sachin Pilot with wife Sarah

ROYAL YOUNG TURK

JHARKHAND WARRIOR

TRIED & TESTED

HILL KING

ORGANIZATION MANDALIT VOICE

SOUTHERN STRONGMAN

HARDY FIGHTER

E Ahamed | 71 | Railways

Mullappalli Ramachandran |53 | Home Affairs

Sisir Adhikari | 66 | RuralDevelopment

Dinesh Trivedi | 59 | Health& Family Welfare

Preneet Kaur | 64 | ExternalAffairs

Harish Rawat | 62 | Labour& Employment

Saugata Roy | 62 | Urban

Development

Vincent Pala | 41 | WaterResources

K V Thomas | 63 |Agriculture; ConsumerAffairs, Food & PublicDistribution

Gurudas Kamat | 55 |Communications & IT

Ajay Maken | 45 | HomeAffairs

V Narayanasamy | 61 |Planning; ParliamentaryAffairs

D Purandeswari | 50 |

Commerce & Industry

Srikant Jena | 58 | Chemicals& Fertilizers

Panabaka Lakshmi | 50 |Textiles

K H Muniyappa | 61 |Railways

Namo Narain Meena | 65 |Finance

A Sai Prathap | 64 | Steel

M M Pallam Raju | 46 |Defence

Jitin Prasada | 36 |Petroleum & Natural Gas

Sultan Ahmed | 56 | Tourism

S S Palanimanickam | 58 |Finance

Mohan Jatua | 71 | I&B

S Gandhiselvan | 46 | Health& Family Welfare

S Jagathrakshakan | 61 | I&B

Bharatsinh Solanki | 55 |Power

Mukul Roy | 55 | Shipping

Tusharbhai Chaudhary | 42 |Tribal Affairs

Mahadev Khandela | 65 |Road Transport & Highways

Arun Yadav | 35 | YouthAffairs & Sports

Prateek Patil | 35 | HeavyIndustries & PublicEnterprises

Pradeep Jain | 49 | RuralDevelopment

R P N Singh | 39 | RoadTransport & Highways

Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh Panabaka Lakshmi takes oath

MoS | THE OTHERS


10/11

TIMESNATION| KNOW YOUR MINISTERS * THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAIFRIDAY, MAY 29, 200912

Farooq Abdullah | 72NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY

EDUCATION | Doctor of Medicine (Jaipur)

ASSETS | Rs9.7cr

Born in 1936 in Soura on the outskirts of Sri-nagar, Farooq Abdullah has served as chiefminister of J&K thrice besides having served

as MP during his father Shiekh Mohammad Ab-dullah's reign as CM. After a stint in Kashmir HealthDepartment, Farooq worked as a general practi-tioner in UK for over a decade in the mid-60s, wherehe also became a member of Jammu and KashmirLiberation Front. Hetook over as CM soon af-ter the death of his fatherin 1982.In 1987, Farooq entered into an accord withformer PM Rajiv Gandhi and fought state assemblyelections in alliance against Muslim United Front,which is attributed to the rise of militancy in Kash-mir as the elections were allegedto be rigged.

After the 1996 elections,Farooq advocated greater

autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir and won the 2008assembly elections on this plank.Farooq's wife Mol-ly is of British origin.He has three daughters and ason J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah.

THE DOC FROM THE VALLEY: Newly-inducted cabinet minister Farooq Abdullah with his son and J&K CM OmarAbdullah, daughter-in-law Payal and grandsons during the swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan

M S Gill | 72YOUTH AFFAIRS & SPORTS

EDUCATION | BA (Hons), MA, Phd (Punjab, Cambridge)

ASSETS | Rs2.5cr

I

ts quite a promotion for former chief election com-missioner M S Gill who was a minister of state (in-

dependent charge) in the previous UPA regime.The elevation to Cabinet rank for the former MoS forsports and youth affairs is certainly a recognition of hisspecial efforts to tone up within just one year the sportsministry which seemed to be directionless earlier.

Though it was a late entry for the retired IAS officerof the Punjab cadre to the previous UPA government whenhe replaced Mani Shankar Aiyar in April last year,he im-mediately made his presence felt by taking a tough stand

on various aspects, including ending the long-standingcontroversial reign of K P S Gill as Indian Hockey Fed-eration president in the wake of the double whammy ofthe national teams failure to qualify for the BeijingOlympics and the bribery scandal involving IHF secre-tary Jyothikumaran.

And, of course,it was a golden moment for the 72-year-old Gill as sports minister when India won three medals inthe Beijing Olympics. Thetenure of the Cambridge Uni-

versity-educated Gill,the onlyformer CEC who entered Rajya Sabha and became a min-ister at the Centre, in the sports ministry also stands outfor the bold steps he took. He openly articulated the toughstand when India decided not to send its cricket team toPakistan for the test series in the aftermath of 26/11. Hemade it mandatory for sportspersons to receive honourslike Padma awards in person after M S Dhoni and Harb-hajan Singh skipped the ceremony this year.

Kumari Selja |47

HOUSING, URBAN POVERTYALLEVIATION & TOURISM

EDUCATION | MA, MPhil (DU, Panjab University)

ASSETS | Rs4.7cr

Efficient and unobstrusive. Despite her rela-tively young age,she has been a MoS in the PV Narasimha Rao government from 1991-96.

She has proved to be a hardy winner of Lok Sab-ha battles and is ready for demanding adminis-trative tasks.The daughter of former Union min-ister Chaudhary Dalbir Singh, Selja is a business-like, no-nonsense person, even if soft spoken.

Selja, who is the first ever woman Dalit Cabi-net minister from Haryana,also seems to have beenelevated from her earlier MoS avatar to counter agrowing Mayawati and BSP presence in the state.

Incidentally, besides Punjab it was only SeljasAmbala constituencyin Haryana,which wit-nessed mayhem as fol-lowers of Dera Sachkhand protested the attack onone of their Vienna heads.

Congress, which now says Selja will be its Dalit

face in the land of Babu Jagjivan Ram, also wantsto keep non-Jats, especially SCs, happy and in its

fold. It (Seljas Cabinet berth) shows that Congressis very much serious about Dalits,says spokesmanVed Prakash Vidrohi.I nside the party, too, her in-duction in cabinet is being seen as an attempt tobalance the power structure in the Congresssstate unit, where chief minister Bhupinder SinghHooda has been trying to increase his influence af-ter taking over reins of the state in 2005.

Kantilal Bhuria | 58TRIBAL AFFAIRS

EDUCATION | MA, LLB | ASSETS | Rs3.1cr

Kantilal Bhuria (58), who waselected from Ratlam (ST) seatafter Jhabua got merged in the

constituency post-delimitattion,is oneo f f or me r Ma dhyaPradesh CM DigvijaySinghs handpicked men.Bhuria was minister of state for con-sumer affairs as well as food and pub-lic distribution in the previous Man-mohan Singh government.

Kantilal Bhuria,who has fought a

long and hard turf battle with DilipSingh Bhuria of BJP, is a tribal. Com-ing from a region dominated by Bhilsand Bhialas (tribals who miscegenat-

ed with Parmar andSolanki Rajputs of Gu-jarat), Bhuria has been

getting elected from Jhabua since 1999.Even through the saffron wave in MPgot over in 2003, Jhabua has remaineda Congress stronghold,thanks to a re-sourceful tribal boss like Bhuria.

NO-NONSENSE MINISTER

Vilasrao Deshmukh | 64HEAVY INDUSTRIES & PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

EDUCATION | BA, BSC, LLB (Pune)

ASSETS | Rs2.6cr

Vilasrao Deshmukh created history in Maharashtra politics,being the first chief minister to stay in office for such a longtime,second only to veteran Congress leader Vasantrao Naik.

Deshmukh has broken the record previously held by NCP pres-ident Sharad Pawar. By and large, it had been assumed that noone will be able to set aside Pawars record in view of uncertaintyover the tenure of chief ministers.

However, Deshmukh had to leave office unceremoniously. Justbefore the 2004 assembly elections,he was replaced by Dalit leaderSushilkumar Shinde and Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi then gave no rea-sons for his removal.

Post-2004 assembly polls,Deshmukh was re-appointed CM, butwas given marching orders in the wake of the 26/11 terror attackon Mumbai. Way back in 1974, when he entered politics, he wasthe member of the Babhalgaon panchayat samiti in Latur dis-trict.Later he was appointed its sarpanch and subsequently, elect-ed member of the Osmanabad zilla parishad.Be fore his election

to the state assembly in 1980,Deshmukh was the president of theOsmanabad zilla parishad. In his political career spanning wellover three decades, Deshmukh was always aggressive not onlyagainst the Opposition members,but even against then-CM Shiv-ajirao Patil Nilangekar and had also raised a banner of revoltagainst the leadership of Sharad Pawar.

REBEL WITH A CAUSE: Vilasrao Deshmukh greets President PratibhaPatil after taking the oath of office

Dayanidhi Maran | 42

TEXTILESEDUCATION | BA Economics

ASSETS | Rs3.7cr

DMK president M Karunanidhis grand-nephew shot into political limelight onhis first foray into politics.

Few knew about his political ambitions orcapability before he was fielded in Chennai Cen-tral Lok Sabha constituency, the seat of his latefather Murasoli Maran.

However, within a short while,he came intohis own as a high-profile minister for infor-mation technology and communications.

He also inherited his fathers mantle as theleader's eyes and ears in New Delhi.

Marans performance, especially in the tele-com sector, was overshadowed by a break-upwithin the family that was caused by a contro-

versial opinion poll published by a Tamil dai-ly belonging to a media group headed by his

b r o t h e r ,K a l a n i t h iMaran.

The survey said majority of the people want-ed Karunanidis son M K Stalin to succeed himand showed his elder son M K Azhagiri in poorlight, triggering violence in Madurai in whichthree employees of the newspaper were killed.

But he is clearly back in Karunanidhis goodbooks after a patch-up a few months a go.

THE TECH MAN: Dayanidhi Maran with wife Priya

OUT OF THE SPECTRUM

HES A SPORT: Will sports get another Gill dose?

Kantilal Bhuria campaigns for the Lok Sabha polls

After Last Weeks Swearing-In Of 19 Ministers, India Finally Got To See Its Full Government. TOI Profiles The Key Players

A SMALL STEP FOR MAN

A Raja | 46COMMUNICATIONS & IT

EDUCATION | BSc, ML

ASSETS | Rs1.3cr

This is a politically torrid sea-son for this 46-year-old DalitMP from Tamil Nadus

coolest constituency of Nilgiris.

Groomed by the late MurasoliMaran and now a loyalist of Ra- jathi Ammal, moth-er of Kanimozhi,Raja was elevated tocabinet rank with the environmentportfolio in 2004.

Earlier, Raja, known for his or-atorial skills, had served in the ru-ral development and health min-istries as minister of state in theUnited Front and Vajpayee regimes.He got the powerful telecom min-istry when Dayanidhi Maran was

forced to quit the Union Cabinettwo years ago and became a closeconfidant of Karunanidhi.

Barely a few months later, Rajabecame Spectrum Rajaas he wasembroiled in a controversy over al-leged irregularities in the sale oftelecom bandwidth.

Yet,chief minister Karunanid-hi stoutly defended Raja and offeredhim the safe seat of Nilgiris in thiselection,when his pocketborough

of Perambalur was de-reserved bythe Constituency Delimitation

Commission. In theelection campaign,the spectrum contro-

versy was the hot campaign themein Nilgiris, yet he pulled off anelectoral triumph. People have re- jected the false campaign overspectrum, he thundered.

He is entering the Lok Sabha forthe fourth time in a row since 1996.A Raja is one of DMKs propagan-da secretaries.

HEALING TOUCH

GREAT SURVIVOR

STEADY PROGRESS

KARUNA FACTOR

SPORTING CHANCE

FAMILY CONNECTION

TRIBAL WARRIOR

Praful Patel | 52CIVIL AVIATION

EDUCATION| Graduate (Mumbai)

ASSETS | Rs90cr

Industrialist-turned-politician PrafulPatels election from Bhandara-Gondiahas surprised not only his rivals, but

his own partymen. Initially, Patel decidednot to contest the polls.But on Sharad Pawarsinsistence, he filed his nomination papers. Hewas first elected to the Gondia municipal council in1985 and later to the Lok Sabha in 1991,1996 and 1998. In April 2000,he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.When Patel lost the 2004 LS elec-tion to the BJPs Shishupal Patle,his rivals felt it was end of his po-litical career, but they were proved wrong. He was appointed civilaviation minister where his poor handling of the Air India-IndianAirlines merger led to huge losses and was severely criticised.

Jairam Ramesh | 55ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS

EDUCATION| BTECH, MS (MIT, US)

Tech savvy, prefers to work with In-dian classical music playing in thebackground. Is energetic and a

modernizer. Disciplined worker, sent inreports to the prime minster regularly inpast government.

Ramesh was made MoS commerce whenManmohan Singh became PM for the first time inMay 2004.He was mostly involved with the works related to the plan-tation sector, which was reeling under crisis. He attended to theproblems of plantations not sitting at Udyog Bhavan.He would vis-it the growing areas in the hinterland and interact with growers.Impressed with his approach, PM gave him an additional portfolioof power but that also had a senior minister in Sushilkumar Shinde.

Prithviraj Chavan | 63SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

EDUCATION| BE, MS (BITS, Pilani and UCLA)

ASSETS | Rs0.17cr

Wide-ranging interests and aquick grasp of complex subjectsmakes him an energetic politi-

cian. As MoS in PMO he coordinated someaspects of govt-party work. As minister in-charge of personnel he has a hang of admin-istrative matters. He has gained organizational ex-perience as well. He is a Rajya Sabha MP while his parents wereparliamentarians for 17 years. The high-profile leader has a BE

(Hons) from BITS, Pilani (Rajasthan) and also a MS from Uni-versity of California, Berkeley. he will also hold charge in theministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions and min-ister of state in the ministry of parliamentary affairs.

Salman Khursheed | 56CORP AFFAIRS; MINORITY AFFAIRS

EDUCATION| BA, MA (Oxford)

ASSETS | Rs2.6cr

The suave Khursheed is a third-gen-eration Congressman.G randson offormer president Zakir Hussain,his

long stint at Oxford couldnt make him anoutsider in Indias hinterland politics. Hehas served two terms as UPCC chief and wasfirst elected to Lok Sabha from Farrukhabad in1991. Made MoS for external affairs in the Rao government, thehigh point was his diplomatic win over Pakistan at a human rightsconvention in Geneva. An electoral win has been eluding Khur-sheed since then though he has been in the core of UP politics. Hemakes a resounding re-entry to the Lok Sabha by pipping BSPstrong man Naresh Agarwal.

Krishna Tirath | 54WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

EDUCATION| MA, BEd (Delhi University)

ASSETS | Rs2.1cr

Krishna Tirath comes from an oldfamily of Congress loyalists. Shebecame a member of the Metropol-

itan Council (predecessor of the Delhi as-sembly) in 1985 and has been a member ofall assemblies till 2003.She was social welfareminister in the first Sheila Dikshit cabinet in1998 and became the deputy state speaker in 2003. She stood outduring her state stint as someone with a mind of her own and notoverawed by Dikshit. In fact when the state secretariat shiftedfrom Vidhan Sabha to Players Building in 2001, Tirath was theonly one to defy her boss and continued to function from her oldoffice on the pretext that it is more accessible to people.

Dinsha Patel | 72SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

EDUCATION| Matriculate

ASSETS | Rs2.3cr

Dinsha Patel is a household name inthe Patel-dominated Charotar re-gion,famous for its tobacco and co-

operatives.MoS petroleum in the previousManmohan government, Dinsha rose fromthe ranks through his knack of connectingpeople with the government. Once consideredamong Congressformidable contestants, in recent years,his elec-toral score has been on the decline. But he remains a fighter.I n 2007he was the only Congress leader who dared to fight CM NarendraModi on the Maninagar assembly seat, a defeat that was consideredmore of an electoral feat. He first got elected as a MP from Khedaconstituency in 1996, the latest being his fifth consecutive term.

Sriprakash Jaiswal | 64COAL; STATISTICS

EDUCATION| Intermediate (Kanpur)

ASSETS | Rs3.1cr

Sriprakash Jaiswal grew in impor-tance after he snatched back the Kan-pur constituency from saffron grip in

1999.He retained the seat in 2004 and wasimmediately given a berth in Manmohanministry as MoS home affairs. His political ca-reer began when he was elected Kanpur mayor in1989 and served till 1992. A businessman, Jaiswal has been one ofthe key Congress leaders from the state where the partys stars werefading after the 1989 debacle in both Lok Sabha and assembly elec-tions.He was appointed UPCC chief by Sonia Gandhi in 1999 andheld the post for over a year.

MOS | INDEPENDENT CHARGEIllustrations: Ajit Ninan Sanjay Sekhri


11/11

TIMESNATION | KNOW YOUR MINISTERTHE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI *

17SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2009

Portfolios: Arjun & Bhardwajsnubbed, Sharma elevated

New Delhi: Veteran Congressmanfrom Andhra V Kishore ChandraDeo, who is in the running for theLok Sabha Speakers post, is an ex-perienced parliamentarian and hadheaded the committee that probedthe cash-for-votes scam during theUPAs trust vote on the nuclear deal.

Fridays list also pointed to someomissions, like veteran Arjun Singh,whose daughter contested as an In-dependent from Sidhi. Similarly, sen-ior Jat leader Shishram Ola seems tobe out, as does law minister Bhard-waj. Though there will be a secondround of inductions next week,theseleaders are unlikely to make it. Thenext round is expected to fill in thegaps left on Fridayfor instance,re p-resentation from UP where the party

made a good show against heavy odds.If the composition of the cabinetsworn in on Friday is anything to goby, the Rajya Sabha representationhas not diminished much despite theCongress numbers swelling to 206 inthe LS Some more cabinet ministers

the 20 ministers sworn in on Friday,12 are from the LS. Though govern-ment sources said the portfolios maynot be announced until the Congressspower-sharing talks with the DMKare settled,the line-up does not seemdifficult to piece together. With theCongress and the NCP agreeing tomaintain the status quo,Praful Patelmay continue in the civil aviationministry, though his exclusion fromthe team that took the oath on Fridayraises doubts about a cabinet upgrade.Also, an additional MoS may not gothe NCPs way. Mamata Banerjee heldthe railways portfolio during the Atalregime. Her stay at Rail Bhavan wassomewhat controversial,but Congressmanagers are relieved her interest inthe ministry has given them an ex-

cuse to deflect the DMKs demand forthe department.Anand Sharma, whose elevation

was a source of envy, may be givencharge of I&Bconfirming him inthe responsibility that he has han-dled since P R Dasmunshis indispo-

urban development.Veerappa Moily, who was given

the job of heading the oversight com-mittee on implementing the OBC quo-tas in centrally-run educational in-stitutions, is mentioned among thepossibilities for t he HRD ministry.Meira Kumar is only one of the twoCongress MPs from Bihar and shouldget back her old job as minister forsocial justice just as Murli Deora istipped for the petroleum portfolio.

After being promoted to the cabi-net rank,B K Handique could be seenas a natural choice for N-E affairs.Hewas MoS in chemicals and fertilisersin the last government. Ambika Soniand Ghulam Nabi Azad,are tipped toreturn to tourism and parliamentaryaffairs respectively.RS member Vyalar

Ravi has made it to the cabinet eventhough the Congress has 16 LS MPsfrom Kerala to choose from. He maygo back to the labour ministry. Ma-harashtra leader S Shinde held thepower ministry and it remains to beseen what assignment he gets New-

DMK awaits acceptableoffer from CongressNew Delhi/Chennai: Senior DMKleader T R Baalu on Friday tried toplay down the partys stand-off withthe Congress over portfolios, sayingthe Congress was still a friend.

The exchanges between the twosides have been pretty sharp so far.DMK sources said the party was ag-grieved by the brusque tone adopt-ed by Congress leaders during thenegotiations. At one point,a nego-tiator,fru strated with the DMKs in-sistence on certain infrastructureministries, said the party shouldnot lose sight of its numbers.

Said a DMK source, Our leaderwould have been more amenable ifa Congress leader had got back tohim and reasoned out their posi-tion.The allusion,it would appear,

was to Sonia Gandhi and the DMKshope that the Congress chief wouldwalk the extra mile to accommodateits demandssomething that hasnot materialised,nor is expected toas far as the infrastructure min-istries are concerned Congress

inet, saying a distorted perceptionwas being created by the DMK lead-ers themselves to settle factionalscores.But they didnt mince wordsabout the fact that Baalus per-formance in the surface transportministry was less than satisfac tory,and that this justified the Congresssbid to wrest it back.

DMK sources in Chennai saidthey were still holding out. We havenot accepted any offer from theCongress. We hope they will getback to us with a more acceptableoffer,giving due regard and respectto us. Congress sources said theDMK had been offered three cabi-net portfolios. They can choosethree out of the following fourcommunications & IT,labour, chem-

icals & fertilisers and textiles,theysaid. In addition, four minister ofstate posts had been offered. Clear-ly, shipping,surface transport,pow-er or railways are not being put onthe table. The trouble for the DMKis if the party doesnt get the ship-

Anand Sharma | 56ASSETS | Rs 2.5cr

EDUCATION | LLB (Himachal Pradesh)

One of the founders ofNSUI, the studentwing of the Indian

National Congress, AnandSharma rose to become thePresident of the IndianYouth Congress in 1985. Heworked closely with late PMRajiv Gandhi. Educated inShimla, Sharma was firstelected to Parliament in 1984

at the age of 31.He has been spokesper-

son for the party for six years and elevated to thecouncil of ministers with responsibility for ForeignAffairs in January, 2006. He also assumed the addi-tional charge of Union Minister of State for Infor-mation & Broadcasting in October 2008. A decisiveman, Sharma devotes time for activities related toautism and learning disabilities. He helped re-ener-gise Indias relationship with Africa and Latin Amer-ica and the recent success of the UPAs Bharat Nir-man campaign has been a feather in his cap.

On the downside, emergency guidelines for me-dia drafted by his ministry landed the governmentin an embarrassing soup besides the recent publicrow in Prasar Bharati board.

Meira Kumar | 64ASSETS | Rs 10cr

EDUCATION | MA.LLB (Delhi University)

The former IFS officer joined the civil services in1973 and served at embassies in Spain,United King-dom and Mauritius. She took the electoral plunge

in 1985 and was elected from Bijnor in UP. The daughter

of Jagjivan Ram,the tall dalit leader who went on to be-come the deputy PM, is a stickler for rules and normsand is a quiet and effective worker, though non-assertive.She has steered the middle path without being too ad-venturous on policy.

Meira, an old hand, had her day in the sun when themost sensitive of UPA promises in 2004 reservation inprivate sector was tossed at her. That is when the qui-et and suave face earned a reputation as a reservationenthusiast. Kumar pursued industry with gusto, threat-ening to legislate if the industry did not do it voluntari-ly. Where Meira Kumar fails to score is her unwilling-ness to assert and make a mark in a loud tone. Interest-ingly, is an ace rifle shooter.

S Jaipal Reddy | 67ASSETS | Rs 5.6cr

EDUCATION | MA, BA JOURNALISM(Osmania University)

The soft-spoken Reddy was urban development min-ister in the previous cabinet.He was moved fromI&B and culture ministry to urban development

where in no time SC order led to major sealing exercisein the Capital. But heplayed calm and mini-mized the political dam-age due to sealing.Servedthe Congress well as anable troubleshooter whocould talk his way througha storm.

Credited with a no-nonsense work ethic, Red-dy oversaw the effectiveimplementation of the fat-cat Jawaharlal Nehru Na-tional Urban Renewal Mis-sion (JNNURM), closelymonitoring the big urban schemes. Word in the party

has it that he was eyeing the post of Speaker.Chosen for the Best Parliamentarian Award in 1998,

Reddy is fluent in both English and Hindi, and can, inschoolmaster fashion,scold and cajole a house of noisyparliamentarians into being better behaved.Once a partof Janata Dal, Reddy was I&B minister in the UnitedFront government and is credited for trying to give au-tonomy to state-run Doordarshan. Prasar Bharati wascreated as an independent body. Under successive gov-ernments autonomy is now invisible.

B K Handique | 74ASSETS | Rs 1.5cr

EDUCATION | MA (Calcutta University)

Son of the great Sanskrit scholar and founder vice-

chancellor of Gauhati University, Krishna KantaHandique, Bijoy Krishna is a tea planter and politi-

cian who won from Jorhat this time for the sixth con-secutive time. He started his political career in 1972 asan MLA and went on to become AICC member.Shiftedto the RS in 1980 and was elected to the LS in 1991.

Was made MoS,defence and parliamentaryaffairs and later MoS,ministry of chem-

icals & fertilizers and ministry of par-liamentary affairs in the last UPA gov-ernment. Known for his organiza-tional skills,he couldnt make a markas minister. Also known for his aris-tocratic style of functioning and is

rarely seen among the masses. I amwilling to take any responsibility, what-

ever the party thinks appropriate for me.I am here to serve my people, his

baritone is a winner. He organ-izes cultural activities among

tea garden workers and pro-vides hostel facility to tribalstudents of tea estates.

M Veerappa Moily | 69ASSETS | Rs 2.9cr

EDUCATION | LLB (Ernakulam)

is political career has seen both highs and lows.Belonging to a numerically-weak backward com-munity, M Veerappa Moily, born in the Dakshi-

na Kannada district of south Karnataka,is a qualifiedlawyer and fought his first assembly elections fromKarkala in 1974. He was handpicked by former Kar-nataka CM D Devaraj Urs for the small-scale industriesportfolio and later served in various successive Con-gress governments. The first major hitch in his careercame in 1984, when as leader of the Opposition, he wasaccused by an independent MLA of trying to bribe Jana-ta Party MLAs to defect to the Congress.

The infamous Moily tapes surfaced soon leading toMoily fighting the stain of corruption for eight years af-ter that. In 1992, as CM of Karnataka,he surfaced again,when he successfully introduced Common Entrance Test(CET) for the states professional educational institutions.His loyalty ensured he was saved from political oblivionby Sonia Gandhi who inducted him into the CWC.

In 2004, despite having lost the LS polls from Man-galore, the author-poet has been utilised by the UPAgovernment and the Congress. Appointed as the Chair-man of the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC).Of the 13 reports, he has already submitted eight.

MamataBanerjee | 54ASSETS | Rs 4.7L

EDUCATION | LLB (Calcutta University)

ueen of her neck of the woods,the Bengal tigress is determinedto lengthen her stride. Irrational,erratic and with a taste for hysteria

that many find distasteful, Mamata Baner- jee was once defined by an episode inwhich she threatened to strangle herself inpublic if a party colleague with a criminalrecord was given a ticket by local Congress

bosses. But that was in 1996. Temperednow by a career of sharp upswings and mis-erable troughs, Mamata now has a slightlylonger fuse.

In 1984,she debuted with a thumping winagainst veteran Somnath Chatterjee in theLok Sabha polls after Indira Gandhis mur-der. She was loved by the party leaders inDelhi, including the young Rajiv Gandhi.

In 1998, disenchanted with what shecalled a covert alliance between the powerbrokers in the Congress and the CPM, shebroke away to start the Trinamool.The stat-ed aim was to fight Stalinist subjugationof the Left in Bengal. With a good showingin the 1999 LS polls, Didi seemed to have got-ten off to a spry start. But by the 2001 as-sembly elections she had squandered thegoodwill and the reds romped home.Beforethe elections, she had resigned as railwayminister and broken from the BJP-frontedNDA government. Rudderless, Mamata

seemed more sound and fury than seriouspolitician.

Defending the land and villagers ofNandigram against the CPM last year washer shining moment. Held up as personal-

ly incorruptible, she still lives in the ram-shackle Harish Chatterjee Street home thatshe shares with her extended family. In hercotton sari and jhola,the diminutive grass-roots diva is back in the reckoning.

OLD HANDS ON NEW DECK

Sushilkumar Shinde | 68ASSETS | Rs 8.6cr

EDUCATION | LLB (Mumbai University)

Maharashtras first Dalit chief minister contested the LokSabha polls from a re-served seat for the first

time this year. Shinde is un-abashed about having flunkedhis matriculation twice and

starting life as a peon in So-lapur court.While working asa bailiff, Shinde studied forand cleared his law exam fromMumbai University. Before be-ing elected to the state as-sembly in 1974,Shinde was asub-inspector with the Mum-bai crime branch.

After he was made minis-ter of state for sports andyouth welfare, there was nolooking back. He set a recordby presenting nine consecu-tive state budgets. Althoughelected to the Lok Sabha in1999, he returned to Maha-rashtra as CM in 2003.

Under his leadership, theCongress performed well butShinde was later shunted toAndhra Pradesh as governor.A year later, he was rehabil-itated at the Centre as power minister. He launched four ultra-mega power projects and managed to link the regional grid butfell terribly short of targets for capacity addition and rural elec-

trification.A published writer, Shinde was president of the pres-tigious Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, a literary convention of

Marathi writers.

Vayalar Ravi | 72ASSETS | Rs 0.5cr

EDUCATION | MA, LLB (Ernakulam)

An old Congress hand from Kerala, Ravi was an able Unionminister for overseas Indian affairs and minister for parlia-mentary affairs in the outgoing cabinet.

His hometown of Vayalar has been the vortex of many peasantstruggles, and Ravi was founder-president of the Kerala StudentsUnion. A contemporary of A K Antony, the two fought shoulder-

to-shoulder to build the states Youth Congress.In 1971, he was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 from Chi-

rayinkil, which after the new electoral boundaries,falls in the At-tingal constituency. He was re-elected in 1977 and in 1982 be-came state home minister, but stepped downfour years later over differences with chief minis-ter K Karunakaran. Ravi has also exchangedwords, strong words,with the worthies at theGuruvayur temple about purification rituals.His wife Maria Francis, popularly known asMercy Ravi, is a columnist and formerMLA from Kottayam.

As minister for overseas Indian affairshe has presided over Pravasi Bharatiya Diwasand is said to be keen on retaining the ministrythat allowed him frequent Gulf trips.

He has been criticised for reducing theministry to non-resident Kerealite af-fairs and accused of sluggishnessin amending the emigration actand giving voting rights to NRIs.He has to his credit labouragreements and socialsecurityagreementsthat will benefit over-seas workers.

C P Joshi | 58ASSETS | Rs 2cr

EDUCATION | PhD Psychology (Udaipur), MSc Physics

Congress won the assembly polls in Rajasthan,but the partys statehead, C P Joshi, lost by one vote.He took the blow in his stride,contested Lok Sabha polls from Bhilawara,and won. This time,by

over one lakh votes.Joshi took over from B D Kalla as PCC chief in 2007,at a time when discontent in the state Congress unit had reached a peak.

Intolerant of carelessness, Joshi is known for his straight-talk. Theperfectionist can be outspoken, upsetting party members. He also en-joys a clean image and is known for his ideas on rural development andeducation.And that has earned him respect from different quarters, in-cluding from Sonia Gandhi. Joshi, who began his political career as afirebrand student leader, was first elected MLA in 1980. He has beenMLA four times since and has served as a state cabinet minister in theprevious Ashok Gehlot government (1998-2003). He held various port-folios, including education, panchayati raj and rural development.

WEDDING VOWS BEFORE PUBLIC VOWS

Q

H

OUTSPOKEN & STRAIGHTFORWARD

GRASSROOTS DIVA: She took on the Reds on their turf and won

THE PEOPLES POLICEMAN

AUTHOR, POET, LAWYER, LEADER

FROM RIFLE SHOOTER TO TROUBLE SHOOTER

As the UPA government gets down to business, TOI profiles someveterans in Manmohan Singhs Cabinet who will need all their

experience to tackle the challenges that come up in the next 5 years

REDDY RECKONER

trurcrii rc iLIu1ubuI Ir1 I .vr 1ulYii. ur. .,n., rD L .)(UiS 3ofUGCA 1956)

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