New Delhi: 

JMM chief Shibu Soren wants the coal ministry

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh comfortably winning the trust vote yesterday, the talk of an early cabinet reshuffle is being spoken about in political circles.

JMM supremo Shibu Soren has already said he would get the Coal portfolio, the ministry which he had held when he resigned from the Cabinet in the wake of a murder case.

It is still unclear whether the new ally of the Congress — the Samajwadi Party — would join the government, but a section in the UPA believes that the Mulayam Singh Yadav led party would be willing to do so despite protestations.

The run-up to the trust vote also saw some Congress leaders playing truant for some time so that the leadership assures them to address their grievances.

While several ministries have already been allocated to the Congress allies, a major exercise by the Prime Minister would be a difficult affair.