Amid cabinet reshuffle buzz, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) chief Pradip Bhattacharya met President Pranab Mukherjee fuelling speculation about state Congress leader's possible appointment as central minister.
Although Bhattacharya's office claimed last night's meeting with President as “courtsey call”, sources in the party said, the meeting was a confirmation of the fact that WBPCC President is the clear front-runner among the Bengal Congress leaders to get a place in the central ministry in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle.
“Even If we get one minister from the state, Pradipda (Pradip Bhattacharya) is certainly going to be the one. Given his seniority, we hope he will get a cabinet berth, ” said a state Congress leader.
Earlier On Tuesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had called on Prsident Pranab Mukherjee, triggering speculation about a cabinet reshuffle in a couple of weeks.
If Bhattacharya moves to Delhi, Congress MP from Murshidabad Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is tipped to replace him as West Bengal Congress president.
West Bengal Pcradesh Congress committee leader Om Prakash Mishra had earlier written to Sonia Gandhi urging her to appoint three ministers from the state at the Centre as after Pranab Mukherjee becoming President and the six Trinamool ministers' exit, there was no representative from the state in Delhi. Mishra had asked for one cabinet minister and two junior minister from Bengal in his letter.
Congress MP from Raigunj Deepa Dasmunshi and one of the family member of late Bengal Congressman A B A Ghani Khan Chowdhury - either brother Abu Hasen Khan Choudhury or niece Mausam Benazir Noor (both are MPs from Malda district) – are among the
Incidentally, another West Bengal Congress leader Manas Bhuniya is also in Delhi, and scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee later in the day. When asked about cabinet reshuffle, he said, "It is prerogative of the Prime Minister to select his council of ministers. We only want as many ministers possible from the state as now there is not a single Central minister from the state."