Toss-up between Vaghela, Rathwa at the Centre?

AHMEDABAD: In all the haggling that is going on in Delhi, Gujarat might see only one or two MPs becoming ministers in the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance government.
This will be quite a contrast to the BJP-led NDA government which had five ministers from Gujarat. The distribution of ministries has become all about keeping alliance partners happy.The ones in the reckoning are the the RJD, NCP and the DMK, to begin with.
And this is Congress''s first tryst with such an arrangement, which many Congress leaders in Gujarat have already come to terms with. The buzz on Thursday was that Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel may be the sole representative from Gujarat. Now, there is speculation that Shankersinh Vaghela and Naranbhai Rathwa — from Chhota Udepur — may make it as ministers.
A top source in Delhi said that Patel had already turned down the for ministership and would be happier as Madam''s political secretary at 10, Janpath, thus continuing to have the ear of the power behind the throne.
This means it could only be Vaghela and one more from Gujarat, possibly Rathwa, if tribal representation is an issue. Of course, the names of Dinsha Patel and Madhusudan Mistry are also doing the rounds.
In the NDA government, Gujarat had five BJP ministers — including DPM Advani Advani — out of the 21 MPs that the party had from the state. The other Central ministers were Kashiram Rana, Vallabh Kathiria, Bhavna Chikhalia and Harin Pathak. Going by proportion, some believe this time there should be at least three from Gujarat.
"But Gujarat is not yet a talking point for the Congress as it is for the BJP after this debacle," said one Congress leader.
Among the 12 Congress MPs from Gujarat, there is not a single former Union minister. The other former Union ministers from Gujarat — Madhavsinh Solanki, Uttambhai Patel, Shantibhai Patel, Urmilaben Patel and BK Gadhvi — did not contest the election even though they were in the thick of things during the campaign.
Another former minister, Yogendra Makwana, lost the election for the Dhandhuka seat. Sources said the other Congress Rajya Sabha MPs from Gujarat, Alka Kshatriya and Raju Parmar, also did not stand a chance of making it into the ministry.