Click to play videoNew Delhi: Performance and credibility has been the benchmark to make the cut in the new Union Cabinet and due to this there are some who are upset at being left out.
Many leaders in the Congress are sulking at not being made a Cabinet minister. Even though Manmohan Singh's Cabinet hasn't thrown up many new faces, but it's certainly disappointed many of the old ones.
Arjun Singh, Saifuddin Soz, Sis Ram Ola were all ministers in the previous Cabinet and now their names are missing.
Soz, formerly water resources minister, was first among the dropped ministers to say that he wants a shot at the ministry again.
"Everyone has ambitions and expectations. It is the honourable Prime Minister's prerogative. I can't say much on this. I tried my best to perform well. My record is there for everyone to see that how hard I worked on the ministry. In the field we have consolidated the Congress party in the Jammu and Kashmir state. And it's the first time in Kashmir that Congress has gained a lot of momentum," said Soz.
Arjun Singh, once among the most powerful Congressmen, also found himself out in the cold.
Earlier not only did his son and daughter fight the elections as Independents against the Congress; he too made little effort to hide his disappointment at his children being denied Congress tickets.
Singh's health too is failing and he was perhaps anticipating being dropped from Cabinet.
"I am tired but not retired," Singh had said a few days back.
However, the old faces of the Congress might still be rehabilitated as governors as there are 12 vacancies.
It may not be the best choice, but it will still keep them in the trappings of power and also keep alive the hope of a comeback at some point.
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