Buzz, faces, winners and losers

The buzz of excitement and anticipation was more than palpable in the chandeliered Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan as ministers officials and special invitees started pouring in around 11 am Since most of them were not in the know of things the guessing game went on as to who was in and who was out with the insatiably curious media collaring every politician who could give the slightest clue The faces and the eyes the mirror of the soulrsquos secrets however told their own story Anand Sharma who was widely touted as the next external affairs minister looked unusually subdued and downcast Salman Khurshid looked confident and casual The Lucky 22 The new ministers wait for President Pranab Mukherjee at the Ashoka Hall before they take oath during the swearingin ceremony Recharged after Durga Puja the president was a picture of poise and grace as 22 ministers took oath in different languages PIcAFP The youth brigade was more than animated Sachin Pilot one of the youngest ministers blithely said ldquoMangal hai all is wellrdquo indicating that he was up for an upgrade In the end he got independent charge as minister of state for corporate affairs In the sea of faces Shashi Tharoor MP from Thiruvananthapuram who had to resign two years ago due to a controversy involving the IPL cricket stood out with his calibrated exuberance and energy His wife Sunanda beamed leaving not much to imagination Manish Tewari the suave spokesperson of the Congress party sported a confident smile and walked in with his wifeu00a0When Congress chief Sonia Gandhi entered the hall with her son and party general secretary Rahul the speculated prime ministerinwaiting the assembled ministers stood at attention making it clear who was in charge In the end the ceremonies played out by the clock with the bugle announcing the arrival of President Pranab Mukherjee followed by a rendition of the national anthem For ldquoPranab baburdquo as the president is fondly called it was a special moment He has taken oath as minister in the same hall many a time and now it was his turn to swearin the new members of the council of ministers Recharged after the Durga Puja the president was a picture of poise and grace as 22 ministers took oath in different languages Manmohan Singh who was till recently excoriated as a failure and a tragic figure exuded the energy of the second generation of economic reforms he launched recently He smiled and looked relaxed ldquoItrsquos a blend of youth and experiencerdquo he said lateru00a0The winners had a lot to celebrate and the losers will now have to bet on the the 2014 poll roulette Whorsquos who gtgt Salman Khurshid External affairs gtgtu00a0Jairam Ramesh Rural development gtgt Ajay Maken Housing and urban poverty alleviation gtgtu00a0Veerappa Moily Petroleum and natural gas gtgtu00a0Jaipal Reddy Science and technology and earth sciences gtgt Kamal Nath Urban development and parliamentary affairs gtgtu00a0Vayalar Ravi Overseas Indian affairs gtgt Kapil Sibal IT and communications gtgtu00a0CP Joshi Road transport and highways gtgt Kumari Selja Social justice and empowerment gtgt Ashwani Kumar Law and justice gtgtu00a0Harish Rawat Water resources gtgtu00a0Chandresh Kumari Katoch Culture gtgt Pawan Kumar Bansal Railways gtgtu00a0K Rahman Khan Minority affairs gtgtu00a0Dinsha Patel Mines gtgtu00a0MM Pallam Raju Human resource development Ministers of state gtgt Jitin Prasada Defence and HRD gtgt Manish Tewari IampB independent charge gtgtu00a0Sachin Pilot Corporate affairs ind charge gtgtu00a0Jitendra Singh Youth affairs and sports ind charge gtgtu00a0Shashi Tharoor HRD gtgtu00a0Chiranjeevi Tourism ind charge gtgtu00a0Jyotiraditya Scindia Power ind charge gtgtu00a0Tariq Anwar Agriculture and food processing industries gtgtu00a0Surya Prakash Reddy Railways gtgtu00a0Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Railways gtgtu00a0RPN Singh Home gtgtu00a0KC Venugopal Civil aviation gtgtu00a0Rajeev Shukla Parliamentary affairs and planning gtgtu00a0KH Muniappa Micro small and medium enterprises ind charge gtgtu00a0Ranee Narah Tribal affairs gtgtu00a0Bharatsinh Solanki Drinking water and sanitation ind charge gtgtu00a0Kodikunnil Suresh Labour and employment gtgtu00a0AH Khan Choudhury Health and family welfare gtgtu00a0Sarve Satyanarayana Road transport and highways gtgtu00a0Ninong Ering Minority affairs gtgtu00a0Deepa Dasmunsi Urban development gtgtu00a0Porika Balram Naik Social justice and empowerment gtgtu00a0Killi Kruparani IT and communications w Lalchand Kataria Defence gtgtu00a0E Ahamed External affairs gtgtu00a0D Purandeswari Commerce and industry gtgtu00a0S Jagathrakshakan New and renewable energy