MP portfolios: Digvijaya Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia extract their pound of flesh from CM Kamal Nath

Well after 10 days of his swearing-in ceremony, attended by national leaders from across the political spectrum, Chief Minister Kamal Nath could overcome the internecine squabbles within Congress over portfolios to distribute departments to 28 of his cabinet colleagues finally late on Friday night.

The ministers were sworn in on Christmas day at the Raj Bhawan and they represented three major factions within MP Congress — CM Nath's followers, former CM Digvijaya Singh's old loyalists and party campaigner Jyotiraditya Scindia. But ministers had to wait for four days to get their portfolio. Still, a number of MLAs are dissatisfied and angry with CM and Singh. Voices of dissent are being raised from different regions, including Gwalior and Malwa-Nimar.

And exactly this delay brought out the severe infighting which led BJP to say the chief minister's prerogative of forming his own cabinet was diluted due to pressures from party high command and different groups.

Leaders of Congress, a party that is tasting fruits of power after 15 long years in MP, did not want to give up on important portfolios. Like Singh wanted all-powerful Finance portfolio for his two-time MLA son Jaiwardhan Singh, a foreign educated and youngest minister of Nath cabinet. While Nath managed to thwart his old pal's pressures, he had to give important Urban development department to Jaiwardhan. In exchange. Incidentally, Sajjan Singh Verma, a Nath acolyte, was gunning for this department which he had held under Digvijaya Singh's regime in the late 90s. Nath succeeded in giving Finance to his confidante from Jabalpur, Tarun Bhanot. CM's other supporter Bala Bachchan, a senior tribal leader, got the powerful Home portfolio and independent Pradeep Jaiswal got Mining department.

Scindia also did not give much freedom to Nath and got many of his supporters 'good' departments such as Health (Tulsiram Silawat), Revenue and Transport (Govind Rajput) and Women and Child Development (Imrati Devi). Scindia did not want Digvijaya-Nath combine to corner the heavyweight departments among their followers.

But political observers suggest the Cabinet looks more of Digvijaya Singh than of Chief Minister Nath.

The political tussle was so bitter that the matter went up to Congress president Rahul Gandhi and hectic meetings took place in Delhi earlier this week among various stakeholders. No faction was ready to step back.

In what is seen as the first, all 28 ministers have been given cabinet rank and no one is made a Minister of State. Junior and senior MLAs have all been treated alike, creating heartburns.

Sources said serious differences also cropped up for Speaker's post which is finally going to NP Prajapati, Nath follower from Gotegaon in Narsinghpur.

The election for Speaker post will take place in January first week in which BJP is putting up a strong candidate. Speaker's election will be Nath government 's first litmus test as the government has a very narrow majority. Both SP & BSP are supporting Congress from outside.