President Pranab,almost there

Even in the event of a contest,Mukherjee looks set to sail through with the Left parties,which have more votes than the TMC,unlikely to oppose his candidature.

The UPA leadership is now set to look for his replacements as Finance Minister and Leader of the Lok Sabha. While Home Minister P Chidambaram has the experience and proven ability to steer the course of the country’s economy in such difficult times,many others including C Rangarajan,Montek Singh Ahluwalia,Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh are said to be in the fray. The Prime Minister could keep the portfolio with himself until a replacement is decided. For the Leader of the House,P Chidambaram and Sushil Kumar Shinde are said to be in contention.

While there is uncertainty about Mamata Banerjee’s next move,the UPA seems to be comfortable in terms of numbers after Mulayam Singh put an end to his brief dalliance with Banerjee by announcing his party’s support to Mukherjee’s candidature. The SP chief was evasive about the possibility of joining the government,saying there was “no invitation”.

Sources said the decision to call Banerjee’s bluff and nominate Mukherjee was taken at the Congress Core Group meeting on Thursday evening,but the question over timing the announcement was resolved today.

Mukherjee was keen that the announcement be made today even though the Left parties had conveyed that the UPA could wait until the PM returns from his foreign trip on June 24 as that would also give them a chance to firm up their decision.

It was finally decided not to delay the announcement any further while the formal nomination could take place after the PM’s return. As No. 2 in the Cabinet,Mukherjee is in-charge of the government’s daily affairs during the PM’s absence.

While Mukherjee was “always the first choice” of the Congress leadership,sources said that what tilted the scale decisively in his favour was his acceptability across party lines,which would ensure that there are no hiccups in his election even in the event of a contest. After Banerjee’s act of one-upmanship,which was said to have “badly hurt” the Congress president,the UPA leadership was said to have decided against any compromise on Sonia’s original proposal.

After the UPA meeting in which Mukherjee’s nomination was approved,Sonia said in a statement that he has a long and distinguished record of public service spanning over five decades.

“There is broad support for his candidature. The UPA appeals to all political parties and all MPs and MLAs to support the candidature of Mukherjee for the office of President,” she said. She had earlier called up Mayawati,Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad to take their consent for Mukherjee’s candidature.

Shortly after Mukherjee’s nomination,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself took the initiative to try to build a political consensus on the name. The Prime Minister called up Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha,Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and senior CPI leader AB Bardhan,seeking their support for the UPA’s Presidential nominee. He also called up SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Mukherjee thanked Sonia Gandhi for nominating him as the UPA candidate for the Presidential election and said he accepts the offer with humility.

“I am deeply honoured on my nomination as the candidate for the election to the office of President of India by my party and UPA-2. I am grateful to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for this recognition. I accept this offer with all humility,” he told reporters at his office.

“In my long political career spanning over five decades,I have been fortunate to receive love,affection and confidence of my party colleagues and also members and leaders of all political parties. I am deeply indebted to them. I will now again seek their indulgence and support for the next few weeks,” he said,adding that the UPA leadership has requested all political parties to lend support.

Asked who will replace him as Finance Minister,Mukherjee said,“It is up to the Prime Minister to decide who will be the next Finance Minister… the Congress president and Prime Minister will decide. I do not think I am the repository of all knowledge and expertise. In our government and in our party,there are a number of people who can handle a difficult economic situation. The Prime Minister himself is an eminent economist and,under his stewardship,we will overcome this temporary crisis.”