What Akhilesh's cabinet reshuffle says about his daddy issues

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav might have affected a major shake-up in his son Akhilesh Yadav's cabinet. However, the pick and choose policy adopted by him to dismiss eight ministers and to induct a dozen new faces has left everyone wondering what the huge exercise was all about.

While systematically floated rumours were aimed at spreading the word that those sacked were suspected to be hobnobbing with Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), it was widely believed to be an effort on the part of Mulayam to send the message that son Akhilesh was actually in command - at long last. After all, with the next state elections barely 17 months away, it was high time that something was done to dispel the deeply ingrained impression that UP had five-and-a-half chief ministers (of which Akhilesh was half).

The exercise commenced with the sacking of eight senior ministers on Thursday, which followed two-day long closed-door parleys between members of the inner Yadav coterie - comprising Mulayam, Akhilesh and his two uncles Ram Gopal Yadav, the party leader in Rajya Sabha and Shivpal Yadav, the multi-portfolio minister in Akhilesh's cabinet. While Akhilesh and his two uncles do enjoy the privilege to give their suggestions, it is Mulayam who takes the call in all key matters that are rarely discussed with other party veterans.

And that was exactly how it happened this time too. While the idea behind the shake-up was to project Akhilesh in his assertive self, his father's back-seat driving was more than visible in the whimsical and irrational handpicking done, either for sacking some or for inducting others in the council of ministers.

Neither performance nor integrity appeared to be any criterion for the removal of incumbents. Many party insiders wondered why the axe fell on the more enlightened, matured, sober and relatively cleaner ministers. "If this was a cleansing exercise to refurbish the government's image, then why were publicly tainted ministers like Gayatri Prasad Prajapati or Ram Murti Verma spared", asked a veteran SP leader, who prefers not to be named. "I am shocked that a hardcore Mulayam loyalist and strong parliamentarian like Ambika Chaudhary got fired together with anther well reputed Dr Shiva Kant Ojha who had also done long stints as minister in the past well", he said.

None of the other six sacked ministers were ever involved in any controversy. These included cabinet ministers, Narad Rai (khadi and village industries), Aridaman Singh (stamps and court fee), Shiv Kumar Beria (textiles and silk) and ministers of state - Alok Kumar Shakya (technical education), Yogesh Pratap Singh (basic education) and Bhagwat Sharan Gangwar (small and medium industries).

On the other hand, mining minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati was infamous for allegedly patronising illegal mining across the state. Likewise, Ram Murti Verma, minister of state for dairy development, was facing serious charges of involvement in the broad daylight killing of Shahjahanpur-based journalist Jagendra Singh, who was set ablaze, allegedly at the minister's behest.

The case of minister of state for health Vinod Kumar Singh alias Pandit Singh was even more interesting. Despite a dubious track record, Pandit Singh was elevated to the cabinet rank in Saturday's reshuffle cum expansion. He was charged of abducting the Bahraich district chief medical officer and compelling him to sign on the dotted line.

With 12 new faces in the 43-month old Akhilesh Yadav ministry, what has left everyone baffled was the induction of a Sikh leader from Punjab as a full-fledged cabinet minister. Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, whom Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier rewarded with a Rajya Sabha berth, was the surprise entry even for senior ministers, who were seen asking each other about the background of the man. "Was there any dearth of party legislators in UP that someone had to be imported from Punjab?" a party veteran was heard asking a colleague.

The much hyped shake-up did not even appear to be an effort towards giving the Akhilesh cabinet any younger look either. Bulk of the new faces who were rewarded with a berth in the ministry were in their 50s. Even in case of those who got elevated from minister of state to minister of state with independent charge, the obvious factor appeared to be the father's sweet will, rather than a judicious decision of the son.

Politically too, the reshuffle cum expansion did not seem to make much sense. Neither does it reflect any regional or caste balance. Party men have been picked up or dumped largely on the whims or fancies of the SP supremo, who has once again, unwittingly send the message aloud that he continues to have unquestioned hold not only over the party but also that he cannot get over his inherent temptation to let go his control over the government, whose reins he had formally entrusted to his son on March 15, 2007.