Considering that it is the last year of the government before general elections in 2009--and they are now likely to take place next year given the spiraling price situation--the exercise was expected to give a political thrust to the United Progressive Alliance.

But that has not happened. It is not as if the PM was undertaking the exercise in order to do a major jig-around and tone up administration and governance. He has dropped ministers of state and inducted MoS, and it is hardly a secret that most MoS have been given very little work to do.

They have to be satisfied with the red light on their car, a better house and parliamentary questions to answer.

It is possible that Jyotiraditya Scindia, who has been given Communications and IT as MoS, and MS Gill who has been given independent charge of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, will play a more proactive role.

Their entry in the ministry is one of the reasons for the expansion. There were powerful groups wanting the removal of Mani Shankar Aiyar from sports, and given his spats, his replacement has been on the cards for some time now.

Gill's elevation has taken the party by surprise since no election is due in Punjab and there are already several ministers from the state in the Dr Singh ministry, including the Prime Minister himself.

This is a signal sent by the Congress high command to the Left parties, with whom Dasmunshi has had a running battle.

Dasmunshi has also been an advocate of a Congress tie-up with Mamata Bannerji.

Undoubtedly, Pachauri was handicapped because he could not get re-elected from a state other than Madhya Pradesh in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

There is a twist in the story about the induction of Dr Rameshwar Oraon and he will be MoS Tribal Affairs.

The Congress has now made up its mind to target Mayawati and try and dent her vote-base of Brahmins, Banias, Muslims and Dalits.

It sees a window of opportunity in UP since those disenchanted with the Bahujan Samaj Party are unlikely to turn to the BJP with Atal Behari Vajpayee no longer at the BJP's helm of affairs and the party being led by a Thakur instead.

The real miss however was Sachin Pilot. His name was doing the rounds as a likely entrant and till the last moment he was expected to be in.

He had impeccable credentials--belongs to poll-going Rajasthan, is from the powerful Gujjar community, and is young, articulate, clued on issues and politically savvy. But Santosh Bagrodia known for his money-raising skills was preferred.

More than the Rajasthan angle, Pilot's entry would have injected political meaning to the whole exercise and given a talking point to the party.

The induction of three young MPs-- Scindia and Prasad being the other two--who are Rahul Gandhi's team would have marked not just a generational change in the Congress, but would have lent a new resolve to Rahul's yatras through the country.

It would have signaled that he was seriously getting ready to take over in 2009. With just two entrants, the message got diluted and diffused. And it became a minor routine reshuffle.