Home run?

If the gup in the NCP camp is to be believed, R R Patil, who had to quit as deputy chief minister following the 26/11 terror attack, may be Home Minister again, reports Shailesh Gaikwad.

If the gup in the NCP camp is to be believed, R R Patil, who had to quit as deputy chief minister following the 26/11 terror attack, may be home minister again.

Apparently, NCP big boss Sharad Pawar is keen to rehabilitate Patil because he thinks the latter got a raw deal when he was ‘sacrificed’ to save the party from public ire.

However, the incumbent, Jayant Patil, is also vying for the home ministry.

And it is not yet clear whether Pawar's nephew Ajit wants it too.

And you thought the tussle over cabinet seats was over?

My enemy's enemy is my friend

Strangely, there is a growing camaraderie between NCP leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and R R Patil who, till recently, couldn't get along with each other.

Here's the history: When Bhujbal resigned following the fake stamps case controversy in 2003, Patil became Home Minister.

And when the latter had to quit after 26/11, it was Bhujbal who stepped into his shoes.

But the two are friends again — probably because both are not on Ajit Pawar's Most-Favoured-Friends list.

With Pawar being the NCP's second-in-command, the warring foes may need each other support in future, after all.

Oh no, not now

Poor Kripashankar Singh. Though he has occupied the hot seat of Mumbai Congress president since 2008, he skillfully steered clear of any controversies.

But a controversy over his links with Madhu-Rs 2,000 crore-Koda has hit him at the most inconvenient time — when his name features in the list of probable ministers in the new state government.

Singh has denied he had anything to do with the former Jharkhand chief minister's nefarious money laundering deals and last heard, was camping in Delhi to do some damage control and secure his near-guaranteed cabinet berth.

A woman on top?

Though Maharashtra has never had a woman chief minister and is unlikely to have one in the next few years, we just may get a woman to head the administration.

Three women officers feature in the list of senior-most bureaucrats - Home Secretary Chandra Iyengar, Health Secretary Sharvaree Gokhale and Leena Mehendale who is the additional chief secretary, general administration department. Will Chavan go where no CM has gone before and entrust a female officer with the task of executing his ideas for the new government? We should know soon enough.