It is almost sure that Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee will have a sweeping victory over West Bengal in the forthcoming elections. Even Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has conceded as much in an interview with a Malayalam newspaper interview saying that the party is ready to become the Opposition party in the state. The question now is that if Mamata didi takes over Writers’ Building, who will take her post in the Railway Bhavan? Mamata’s confidantes, everyone from Mukul Rai to Dinesh Trivedi are vying for the post. But reliable sources say that the Congress has made it clear to her that if she shifts to Bengal, she will have to let go off her hold on railways ministry. The Congress wants to manage the portfolio now. After Jaffer Shareif, no one from the party has been given the portfolio. The Congress party has in the fine print told Mamata that her party may be given three Cabinet posts in lieu of the railways ministry. In UPA 2 party rule, the Congress is gradually taking over all major portfolios – first it was surface transport, then telecom was taken from Dramuk and then civil aviation ministry. Now it’s Trinamool’s turn.

You surely must have seen the prime minister showing new confidence and waxing eloquent and using sher-shayari to face Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj before the Budget session. Even those who barely understand politics have realized that Manmohan Singh is anxious to move out of the shadows of 10, Janpath. The forthcoming central Cabinet reshuffle may be a sign of things to come. This may happen in April or after May 5, when elections in all five states are over. Most people are coveting the law minister’s post. For instance, Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Salman Khurshid, Ashvini Kumar, Pavan Bansal and so on. Sonia feels Kapil Sibal is most suited to the post and the PM wants Ashvini Kumar to take over. But how much can one man Sibal take care of – he already handles the portfolios of human resource and development and telecom. Ghulam Nabi Azad’s name was also considered but after the Niira Radia tapes, he might not stand such a good chance. But the most active is Pavan Bansal, both within the Parliament and outside. It’s like his sleeping ambitions have suddenly woken up.