July 6: The chief ministers of the four northeastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh completed the process of downsizing their governments in the nick of time, eschewing major surprises and retaining their trusted aides.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga completed the task of trimming their ministries a day before the expiry of the deadline.
Tripura was the first state of the region to reduce the size of the government in accordance with a constitutional amendment last year.
In Manipur, Okram Ibobi Singh retained nine of his Congress ministers and gave the other two berths to the CPI. He ignored the demand for a berth in the government from another coalition partner, the Manipur State Congress Party.
Ibobi Singh?s colleagues had resigned on Sunday to give him a ?free hand? in reconstituting the government. The chief minister met Governor Arvind Dave yesterday to submit a list containing the names of the ministers whose resignations he had accepted.
He retained industries minister Th. Devendra Singh, power minister Phungjzathang Tonsing, works minister Gaikhangam, public health engineering minister Govindas Konthoujam, law minister L. Nandakumar Singh, tribal development minister Ngamthang Haokip, general administration minister Francis Ngajokpa, Loktak development minister Leima Devi, minister of state for public health Md. Allauddin (all from the Congress), food and civil supplies minister Ph. Parijat Singh and irrigation and flood control minister N. Mangi Singh (both CPI).
Leima Devi, the lone woman in the ministry, was reportedly retained at the insistence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Sources said Devendra Singh, whose turbulent relationship with Ibobi Singh made him a candidate for omission, escaped the axe ostensibly because he has the ability and the clout to rock the coalition boat.
Though those who missed the bus were peeved, none of them spoke out in public, much to the chief minister?s relief. He is scheduled to leave for New Delhi tomorrow to discuss reallocation of portfolios with the Congress high command.
Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang announced the new composition of his ministry from the capital. Chief secretary Peter Bazeley said the list was finalised before he left for New Delhi yesterday, but there was one notable change from the originally proposed composition. The Congress legislator from Rajabala, Sayeedullah Nongrum, replaced his Phulbari counterpart Manirul Islam Sarkar, who was the lone non-tribal member of the coalition government.
Apart from that one significant change, Lapang stuck to his decision to retain nine Congress ministers and one each from the three coalition partners. As in Manipur, the size of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government now stands at 12, down from 41.
The chief minister took nine key portfolios, including industry, health, power, public health engineering and planning. The home portfolio went to Congress leader H.D.R Lyngdoh, while Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement president Paul Lyngdoh was given multiple portfolios, including charge of jails and homeguards, sports and youth affairs, PWD (buildings) and fisheries.
Garo leader Mukul Sangma got the forest, PWD (roads), information technology, higher education and election portfolios. United Democratic Party president Donkupar Roy retained the finance portfolio. His additional responsibilities are information and public relations, law, printing and stationery, revenue, non-conventional energy and trade.
Meghalaya Democratic Party chief M.N. Mukhim was given the supply, social welfare, animal husbandry, administrative reforms and reorganisation portfolios.
The other members of the new-look ministry are Sayeedulah Nongrum, C.R. Sangma, Debora Marak, Friday Lyngdoh, J.D. Rymbai and Nelang Lyngdoh.
In Nagaland, the only surprise was the omission of power minister and senior BJP leader Tiameren Aier. Voices of protest were heard in Tuensang over education minister Chuba Chang not being retained.
Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a quiet transition from a 33-member ministry to a leaner one. Acting on chief minister Gegong Apang?s recommendation, Governor V.C. Pande accepted the resignation of 21 ministers, asking the rest to continue. Barring Apang and his deputy Kameng Dolo, all had put in their papers on Sunday.