They have delivered, and now they wait to be rewarded. Following their magnificent showing in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress leaders from the state have rushed to New Delhi to lobby for berths in the Manmohan Singh cabinet.
Sharad Pawar's NCP has pledged support to the UPA government. Perhaps, the prime minister would not snub a senior politician like Pawar, but the NCP boss is unlikely to be given a chance to bargain for plum cabinet posts for his party men. In all likelihood, the number of NCP ministers in the central cabinet will reduce from three to two. Of that, one will surely go to civil aviation minister Praful Patel, who has very good personal equations with Sonia Gandhi.
The state is expecting to get a better representation in the Capital. The list of probables runs long, including Sushil Kumar Shinde and Vilas Muttemwar. Both the former union ministers have parked themselves in New Delhi.
The frontrunners among the first-time aspirants include senior sitting MP Gurudas Kamat, who won from Mumbai North-West. Priya Dutt from Mumbai North-Central is also in the reckoning. Young Milind Deora, who retained the Mumbai South seat, may have to wait if his father, Murli Deora, seeks re-induction into the cabinet.
An AICC general secretary said on condition of anonymity, "There are two favourites from Vidarbha. A section is supporting Mukul Wasnik, who won the Ramtek seat. Others are lobbying to retain Muttemwar, who won Nagpur."
Kamat has been a minister in waiting for the past three years. After he voluntarily resigned as Mumbai Congress chief, there had been expectations that he would be accommodated in the Centre. He is hoping that he would be happy this time.
When the UPA was formed in 2004, Shinde and Shivraj Patil were inducted into the cabinet despite both being Rajya Sabha members. Now that Shinde, who represents the Dalits, has won a Lok Sabha seat, it is unlikely that Sonia Gandhi will overlook his name.
