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BJP's TN allies miffed over ministry expansion postponement

N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

Parliament members of Tamil Nadu belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition are upset. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's decision to put off the much-delayed Cabinet expansion after raising much hopes this time has led to frustration, if not outright resentment, in some quarters.

As is known, the BJP's allies in the state stood to gain from the proposed expansion, which has been in the news since May last. Even the state BJP stands to gain, as it expects at least a minister of state from Tamil Nadu, apart from Energy Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, who is an `outsider', originally from the Congress.

Topping the list naturally are the MPs from the AIADMK, with 18 members in the Lok Sabha. Party chief J Jayalalitha had hoped to accommodate at least four more of them, apart from the two ministerial berths the AIADMK now has. Of the four, two would have been for filling vacancies caused by the abrupt exit of Sedapatti R Muthiah and R K Kumar. The other two were expected to be new additions, though Vajpayee was not known to have taken any decision.

Though the AIADMK leadership is as upset as its MPs, it is not complaining. For the present, the leadership is content with the Centre taking a line supportive of Jayalalitha's in the special courts case pending before the Supreme Court, and is willing to wait for the expansion.

However, party MPs, most of whom are not caught in the cases now before the special courts, are not pleased. But they are not complaining, either. They too are willing to wait as long as `Amma' wants them to.

It's the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazagham with three MPs and the Pattali Makkal Kattchi with four MPs that feel even more frustrated. The former was not keen on joining the government, but Vajpayee cited the 'stability' card for party chief Vaiko to change his mind. If, however, the embarrassment for the party is less this time, it's because Vaiko has opted out of a ministerial berth. The party has named Ginjee Ramachandran as its nominee, and he is said to be sick of waiting.

The PMK's position is even worse. Though no one wants to go on record, insiders say party founder S Ramadoss is upset over Vajpayee not considering another berth for the PMK. The party now has a lone Minister of State for Health with independent charge in Dalit Ezhilmalai, and does not have representation for its traditional Vanniar community- backers.

Sources, however, claim that Ramadoss had argued the case of fellow-Vanniar leader and Thamizhaga Rajiv Congress president Vazhappadi K Ramamurthy at the time of government- formation last year. Now again, Ramadoss is said to have argued for Ramamurthy's continuance as petroleum minister, against Jayalalitha's reported demand for his shifting, if not dropping.

"After taking up Ramamurthy's case as his own, and after threatening to withdraw Ezhilmalai too from the government if petroleum was taken away, Ramadoss cannot complain," says the source. But that's not the case with the PMK ranks, whose dominant Vanniar sections feel left out of 'our own party'.

Interestingly, similar sentiments rule even sections of the state BJP. After the induction of Rangarajan Kumaramangalam when Vajpayee was sworn in prime minister last year, they had hoped for a minister of state. The party has two more MPs from the state in C P Radhakrishnan (Coimbatore) and Master Madan (Nilgiris).

BJP 'insiders' still consider Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, as 'outsider', as he had been with the Congress until the eve of the Lok Sabha elections. While Radhakrishnan is an RSS activist who came to national limelight in the wake of the poll-eve Coimbatore blasts, Madan had been the party's losing candidate in the two previous elections.

However, the induction of another BJP minister from the state could lead to similar demands for a second nominee from the MDMK and the PMK. The AIADMK too may then demand proportional representation, seeking 12 ministers for its 18 Lok Sabha MPs, even excluding its six Rajya Sabha members.

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