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Gandhi had promised to make some changes in the party organisation that “will surprise everyone” and Natarajan’s appointment is presumably the first of a series of such changes.
More lateral movement from the government to the party is expected along the lines of 2008, when Union minister Jairam Ramesh was asked to assist the party in its campaign.
The resignation of Natarajan, 59, had been accepted by the President, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqué said. It added Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily would hold additional charge of the environment ministry.
Natarajan, thought to have held up clearance of several key projects on environmental grounds, has been a controversial minister. The latest action of her ministry that created much flutter was accepting the Kasturirangan panel’s recommendations. This was despite the near-total absence of consensus on the way the Western Ghats should be developed and whether mining, hydel and thermal power projects should be prohibited in this ecologically-sensitive region.
A senior member of the Rajya Sabha for a third term, Natarajan hails from Tamil Nadu and was brought to the ministry two years ago. Her membership of the Rajya sabha ends in April next year.
As the Congress has just five MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and its alliance with the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam has all but collapsed, the chances of Natarajan being elected again from Tamil Nadu are slim.
Also, as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief B S Gnanadesikan was appointed two years ago and has got an extension, it is unlikely Natarajan will replace him in the state.
Other vacant PCC posts need to be filled. In Mizoram, where the party won its only election among the five Assemblies that went to polls recently, the chief minister is also the PCC chief. In Haryana, the appointment of a new PCC chief to replace Phulchand Mulana is long overdue, while in Rajasthan, PCC chief Chandrabhan has resigned from the state chief’s post following the party’s debacle in the recent polls. Chandrabhan had lost even his own seat.
Young ministers like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and R P N Singh could also be given key responsibilities in party organisation, including in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Scindia had been made Congress campaign committee chief for Madhya Pradesh. Though the party lost in the state, one of the reasons cited for the loss was Scindia’s late entry as the party’s face.
The party has been in a revamp mode over the past few days. Congress leaders indicate a major rejig could happen before the All-India Congress Committee meeting on January 17. Party insiders are sceptical but the general impression is that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi could be named the Congress’ prime ministerial candidate for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
On Thursday, the party appointed two new PCC chiefs — Arvinder Singh Lovely in Delhi and Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh — signalling the intent to bring sweeping changes in state units.
Before that, on Wednesday, Congress had replaced its Goa PCC chief Subhash A Shirodkar and appointed former MP John Fernandes as the state unit president.
There is also speculation about replacement of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in Uttarakhand, though the party has officially denied any such move.
IN THE WOODS
What could have gone against Jayanthi Natarajan
* Environment ministry’s plan to go-ahead with the Kasturirangan panel report, against which the Congress party, Left parties and religious organisations were up in arms in Kerala — a move said to affect mining activities, industrial and real estate projects and power sector expansions in the area
* Power ministry had recently alleged at least 70 power projects, worth Rs 4 lakh crore, were stuck — a majority of those held up by the environment ministry
* According to reports, 200-odd projects in queue for clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Investments — worth Rs 20,000 crore — was stuck with the ministry, raising doubts on the ministry’s effectiveness
