SO, what are we to read in the totally unconcealed desperation on the part of so many key members of this cabinet to be ‘elevated’ to Rashtrapati Bhavan? Pranab Mukherjee, Shivraj Patil, Arjun Singh and Sushil Kumar Shinde are the four senior-most members of this cabinet holding important, powerful portfolios. All four were in the race to ‘retire’ to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Following in their footsteps, at least four others have been desperate for the vice-presidency. Now, even in the not particularly renunciatory history of our politics, this is unusual.

Here is something for Sonia Gandhi to think about: if four of the senior-most members of her cabinet see so little future for themselves in mainstream politics that they are so keen to move on to a ceremonial sinecure and if another four are equally desperate to simply move on to vice-presidency, something must be wrong with the way this cabinet has been constituted. But that is exactly what you expect from a cabinet packed with individuals the use-by dates on whom have been over for years. They are not sure the party will return to power in 2009. But they are sure — except Pranab, whose case is different — that none of them is likely to get a cabinet berth by then as they will be too old for an active job even by the geriatric standards of Indian politics. Do a quick head count of cabinet ministers who are most unlikely to get their jobs back in the summer of 2009, and that too if a Congress coalition wins, and you run through most of this cabinet: Patil, Arjun Singh, Saifuddin Soz, Sis Ram Ola, Mahabir Prasad, A.R. Antulay, you can keep counting. All of these are full cabinet ministers, people who meet every Thursday to take decisions vital to our lives and those of our children. But if they have one certainty about 2009, it is that they will not be back in the cabinet, irrespective of who wins power, so better grab something now that gives five years of security with pomp. In fact, as we get closer to 2009, you can safely predict many of them will canvass equally desperately for governorships. Pranab’s is a different story, because he is the only one who can be sure that should there be a Congress-led cabinet in 2009, he will remain its key pillar. But he knows he won’t be prime minister. So the top job is denied to him for ever, despite his competence, experience and, most importantly in Indian politics, years; why not cut one’s losses now and move on for five years?

... contd.