Krishna resigns; Soni, Wasnik offer to quit

The countdown for a substantial reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers began Friday with resignation of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and reported offers by Ambika Soni and Mukul Wasnik to quit the government in favour of party work.

The reshuffle, which will take place on Sunday morning, is expected to see induction of new faces, including actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi.

80-year-old Krishna, a former Chief Minister of Karnataka, sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after apparently being told of plans to revamp the Cabinet. It has since been accepted.

Krishna, who was surprisingly made the External Affairs Minister after 2009 elections, said he was stepping down to pave the way for youngsters and strengthen the hands of leadership for strengthening the party.
There were indications that he could be asked to lead the Congress in Karnataka where assembly polls are due next year.

Late in the night, reports emerged that Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Social Justice Minister Mukul Wasnik also had offered to quit to work for the party.

Whether Rahul Gandhi would join the government is still a matter of conjecture even as the Prime Minister held consultations with Congress President Sonia Gandhi for about an hour, apparently to give final touches to the exercise.

Some more Ministers are likely to quit ahead of the reshuffle, which could be the last before the Lok Sabha elections slated for 2014.

Among the probables for induction are Chiranjeevi, whose 18 MLAs provide stability to the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh after the merger of his party PRP.

Speculation is that former Chief Minister K Vijay Bhaskar Reddy's son Surya Prakash and two MPs from Telengana region are likely to be made union ministers.
    
Another proposal making the rounds is that Gandhi may be elevated from being a General Secretary to the revived post of Working President.
  
The Congress is said to be working on more measures to reach the 'aam aadmi' (common man) on the lines of the NREG scheme which had paid rich dividends to the party in the last elections.
    
Younger ministers like Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia are likely to be promoted and may get independent portfolios.
    
There has been speculation about a reshuffle in the Cabinet for quite some time now, especially after the exit of Trinamool Congress ministers both at the levels of Cabinet and Ministers of State levels.

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