Eye on Cabinet, Mamata talks peace

NEW DELHI: Having refused to accept a ministerial berth in a fit of rage, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is now trying to make peace with the NDA leadership.
After deliberately staying away from Delhi since the last cabinet reshuffle, she made a special trip to the Capital to attend Saturday’s NDA coordination committee on Iraq. Since then, she has had seperate meetings with Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and defence minister George Fernandes.
These patch-up moves are being seen as a prelude to Mamata’s entry into the Union cabinet.
A furious Mamata had rejected a ministerial berth last time when she learnt that her bete noire and party colleague Sudeep Bandhopadhaya was also being inducted into the council of ministers. The Trinamul chief had alleged that this decision was taken without her consent which, according to her, was against all tenets of coalition dharma.
She had pointed out that it is the leader of a regional party who chooses its representatives for inclusion in the ministry, citing the example of the Shiv Sena. This incident had created a huge misunderstanding, which Mamata is now trying to clear.
Her meeting with Advani on Monday is particularly significant as the last time, the DPM had reportedly favoured Sudeep Bandhopadhaya’s induction into the ministry. He was also stated to have resisted Mamata’s re-entry on the grounds of her receding credibility and impetuous temperament.
But at Monday’s meeting, Advani, it is learnt, placated Mamata and assured her that he had no objections to her return to the cabinet.
Prime Minister Vajpayee, on the other hand, is keen to have her in the cabinet as he believes that despite her dipping popularity, an alliance with Mamata will help the BJP register its presence in the Left-ruled West Bengal.
On Tuesday evening, Mamata had a lengthy session with NDA convener George Fernandes. He is also learnt to have persuaded her to rejoin the cabinet.
Sources said Mamata, too, is keen on becoming a minister as this will immediately give her more clout in West Bengal, where she is engaged in a political battle with the Marxists.