The composition of the prestigious standing committees of Parliament, which scrutinise and discuss important Bills, has been decided. An announcement is expected today.

The standing committees comprise MPs across parties and are considered mini Parliaments. There is often much politics over the contours of each.

Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee, for instance seems to have got her way this time around. Under pressure from her, CPM leader Basudev Acharya has lost the chairmanship of the house panel on railways. Acharya held the chairmanship for almost two decades.

Sources say the beneficiary of this Bengal tussle is the DMK's TR Baalu.
Acharya, the sources add, has been compensated and given charge of the panel on agriculture.

Mulayam Singh Yadav's reported lobbying for the chairmanship of the panel on petroleum has not borne fruit. His proximity to Anil Ambani seems to have worked against him. The Congress clearly did not want to bring corporate wars into Parliament committees.

And the BJP finds itself in another awkward situation: Only last month Jaswant Singh took over the chairmanship of the crucial public accounts committee on a recommendation by the BJP. The party can now ask the Speaker to remove him, but it is completely up to her discretion.