If the Union Cabinet ever decides to hold a meeting outside Delhi, the headquarters of the Board of Control for Cricket in India at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium will be an appropriate venue. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee can sit at the head of the table in the seat reserved for BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya. Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, the Union Government's "Captain Courageous", will sit in the chair usually occupied by Sourav Ganguly, while the other notables can be expected to find seats that are worthy of their status in the Cabinet.

RITUAL POSE: Vajpayee's 10th reshuffle reflects his revolving door policy

In the cricketing season, the impending World Cup alone is not the reason for this analogy. Of late, some of the moves of the Vajpayee Government have been as quixotic as the BCCI's. For every Rahul Dravid who is shunted from No. 3 to No. 6 in the batting order-and even asked to be the stand-in wicketkeeper-there is an Arun Jaitley, Union law minister one day, the BJP general secretary the next, only to be back within six months as law minister. Arun Shourie, like spinner Anil Kumble, has more than enough critics questioning his place in the team but his sheer doggedness and consistency ensure he carries on. Ajit Agarkar's erratic form with both bat and ball may be responsible for his frequent omission from the team but Dr C.P. Thakur is too seasoned a practitioner in both medicine and politics to suffer a sudden loss of form. Yet Thakur was dumped as Union health minister in a cabinet reshuffle in July last year but found himself back in the Government last week. Little wonder cynics find Vajpayee's selection criteria as baffling as that of the BCCI.

The timing of the reshuffle was as perfect as its motives were predictable. After its spectacular victory in Gujarat, the BJP faces elections in Himachal Pradesh later this month and is confident of beating the anti-incumbency factor and retaining the state. In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi, it hopes to work the anti-incumbency factor to its advantage and unseat the Congress regimes. As BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu says, "The reshuffle is part of the prime minister's plan to make the party and the Government effective and ready to fight the coming assembly elections as well as the Lok Sabha polls next year."

The January 29 reshuffle of the Vajpayee Ministry was the 10th since it assumed office in October 1999. But there was a notable first-the head of the Government had the head of the party totally involved in the restructuring process which this time was limited to the BJP members in the Council of Ministers. In two meetings spread over eight hours, Vajpayee discussed with Advani and Naidu the possible names before finalising the list. Though the apparent reason for the reshuffle is the impending polls, the prime minister, according to Naidu, went for it basically to:

induct and reward those who have a clean and efficient image.
ensure cohesiveness in key ministries by dropping controversial and ineffective ministers.
draft ministers for political work in states that are going to polls this year and for the Lok Sabha elections next year.
give more responsibility to Advani and involve the party in the Government.

The scale of the changes reflects these objectives. Four cabinet ministers were dropped and eight new ministers were inducted in the reshuffle that involved over 20 ministries and departments. Since a change that just juggled old faces was bound to be met with scepticism, Vajpayee inducted six new faces at the minister of state level: Sangh Priya Gautam (agro and rural industry), Dilip Singh Judeo (environment and forests), Bhavnaben Chikhalia (tourism and parliamentary affairs), Jaskaur Meena (human resources development), Dilip Kumar Mansukhlal Gandhi (shipping) and Chhatrapal Singh (chemicals and fertilisers).

The reinduction of Jaitley as the minister in charge of law and justice as well as commerce and industry and the elevation of Shourie-in addition to disinvestment, he now holds the portfolio of information technology and communications-is seen as part of Vajpayee's plan to give a clean face to the Government. Sushma Swaraj's training in political management is expected to begin with her handling of the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry during the forthcoming budget session even as she handles a vital social sector like health.

The handing over of the crucial Department of Personnel to Advani means that all future government appointments are vetted through a political system. The change is significant for it is after 22 years that the PMO has given up control over this key department, responsible for postings and promotions of IAS officers, public-sector chiefs and officials in the Central government. The Central Bureau of Investigation, however, stays with Vajpayee. Sources say that though he was keen that Advani should take charge of the CBI, the home minister declined on grounds that he faced a decade-old CBI charge-sheet on the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya.

According to BJP sources, the sweeping changes that Vajpayee initiated last week were a sequel to his earlier announcement of a three-point agenda to carry out a mid-term appraisal of ministers and ministries, take mid-course corrective measures to remove distortions in government policies and draw a road map for the future.

VAJPAYEE'S B TEAM
Combining age, caste and community, these leaders enhance the party's image in electoral calculations
RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD MoS, I&B	ANANTH KUMAR Urban Dvlp. Minister
DILIP SINGH JUDEO MoS, Environment	SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN Civil Aviation Minister

The exercise was not without hiccups. Pramod Mahajan's move from the Government to the party caused much heartburn and rift. Never in recent times had the Communications Ministry been mired in such controversy as it was under Mahajan. But since he carries with him a notion of indispensability, Mahajan felt secure. Advani, however, was firm that he be replaced. Vajpayee is said to have relented only when he was told that in a recent meeting with telecom industry leaders, Mahajan had made some undignified remarks about his senior colleagues. Taking the cue from Advani, Naidu suggested to Mahajan that he shift to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Mahajan was emphatic that if he had to move, he would move out to the party. The suggestion was promptly accepted.

There were surprises in store for other ministers as well. Coal and mines minister Uma Bharati, tipped as the party's next chief minister in Madhya Pradesh, was reluctant to leave her job in Delhi. When told about the party convention of one-person-one-post, she retorted that she was not going to give up one post for another that was only in the pipeline. Eventually, the party was forced to create a post-chairperson of the Madhya Pradesh Election Campaign Committee-to extract Bharati's resignation from the Cabinet. If someone is shedding tears over her ouster, it is mostly the swadeshi lobby. Vasundhara Raje, the party's chief minister-in-waiting for Rajasthan, too, was reluctant to leave her ministerial job in Delhi to take up a full-time assignment as pradesh party chief. With her exit, she is expected to make a determined bid to replace Ashok Gehlot as the next chief minister.

VAJPAYEE'S ELECTION TEAM
They constitute a formidable team to spearhead the party's campaign in the polls later this year
M. VENKAIAH NAIDU President, BJP	PRAMOD MAHAJAN Gen Secy, BJP
NARENDRA MODI Chief Minister, Gujarat	VASUNDHARA RAJE Rajasthan BJP Chief
UMA BHARATI MP Election Cell Chief	RAJNATH SINGH Former CM, UP

An element of mystery surrounded the exit of some ministers, most notably Vijay Goel, minister of state in the PMO who was shifted to the less exciting environs of parliamentary affairs and labour. Seventy-six-year-old Ved Prakash Goel, for long the BJP's national treasurer, was inducted into the Council of Ministers only last July, and though not the most efficient of ministers, he was among the more honest ones. But he was dropped following charges against him and his son which, sources close to him say, are totally unsubstantiated. Protests were muted but questions were raised about the ouster of an old party hand from the Government. The punishment for Shatrughan Sinha, famous for playing truant from Parliament and his office as minister of health, was a move to the less glamorous but perhaps more lucrative Ministry of Shipping. Besides, there are at least six ministers who are known to have played favourites while floating tenders and awarding contracts. "It is tragic that a party with more than 220 MPs is unable to find even 25 good and honest faces to handle the Government and provide clean leadership," says a senior party leader.

As the dust from the reshuffle settles, the frequently asked questions revolve around its most controversial figure-Mahajan. If he (or his image) is not good enough for the Government, can he be good enough for the party? The consensus, surprisingly, seems to be yes. As party general secretary, Mahajan has it in him to bring more resources and inject some vitality into the party headquarters and its state units. In the past, he has proved his organisational skills in Maharashtra and Gujarat. His control over party cadres is enviable and though by nature abrasive, he is known to possess negotiating skills that can be the envy of any diplomat.

Naidu asserts that the changes effected last week were the result of almost six months of dialogue within the party. The steps were initiated in mid-2002 when Naidu and Jaitley were moved from the Government to the party. In the four regional conclaves of district-level leaders in Jaipur, Bhopal, Kolkata and Bangalore last year, the cadres clearly told the leadership that unless the party changed both its chehra (face) and charitra (character), there was not much to look forward to in the next elections. That was heeded. The formal selection of Bharati, Vasundhara Raje and Madan Lal Khurana as the party's chief minister designates for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi was arrived at after considerable discussion. Says Naidu: "We will have more internal sessions in the next two months, first with our party leaders and then with our allies in the NDA to chalk out winning strategies in the elections."

BJP leaders feel the confidence level in the party, running high since the victory in Gujarat, will rise further after last week's exercise. An influential section in the party believes that post-Gujarat, the party should revive the saffron agenda even if it means dumping some NDA parties who squirm at the mere mention of Hindutva and find new allies who are more amenable to the BJP's core agenda. But that may have to wait. At least until the assembly polls later this year. The results should be a good barometer of how people view these changes-a dramatic reshuffle that has yielded results or a mere cosmetic change that altered nothing. If the November elections in four states throw up results the BJP can flaunt, there may be no stopping the party. If not, Vajpayee, Advani and Naidu will be like the cricketers who set out for New Zealand after a convincing home series win over the West Indies. It will take a while before the players and the game's countless followers forget the hiding at the hands of the islanders. And like the cricketers, some serious chintan (thought) sessions will be in store for Messrs Vajpayee, Advani and Naidu.

-with Ashok Damodaran