After announcing Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the UPA candidate for the Presidential election, the Centre’s task is just half done.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not only have to find a ‘Mr Right’ – a replacement for Mukherjee – to occupy the hot seat of finance minister given the sinking economy, but the head hunting to lead at least 35 groups of ministers (GoMs) which ‘Mr Fixit’ chairs will have to begin simultaneously as well.
Pranab Mukherjee was heading as many as 83 of 183 GoMs, which includes empowered GoMs, the UPA government had formed since its first tenure, which began in 2004, to take informed policy decisions on important issues that involved more than one ministry.
However, in the UPA’s second innings, Mukherjee was given charge of 35 such panels, the reply to a query under Right to Information (RTI) Act had revealed.
Mukherjee headed important groups like the EGoM on spectrum, coal auction and pricing and on issues linked to management of food grains.
Home Minister P Chidambarm is next, heading 15 GoMs, followed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who leads five GoMs and Defence Minister A K Antony, who chairs three. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde lead one each.
Barely coming out of the embarrassing situation it was pushed into by two key allies who differed on the candidate short-listing, the Congress will have to walk the extra mile to find an able successor to Mukherjee.
Suitable substitutes
Seniority, experience, political acumen and ability to tackle the situation will be seen to identify suitable substitutes to head the 24 GoMs which are often called to settle issues which even the Union Cabinet failed to do.
The government might task several ministers to head the GoMs in the absence of Mukherjee.
While Chidambaram and Antony are likely to be told to share more panel load, the new faces of able ministers including Kapil Sibal could be drafted in to overcome the policy paralysis UPA is facing.
The physically short but a capable politician of long stature, Mukherjee, could take along senior ministers of the UPA government and ruling political partners due to the respect he had earned in his career which is as spotless as the white cotton “dhoti” and “kurta” he loves to wear.
His Bengali accent of speaking English and short temper that diminishes soon contrary to his photographic memory has not hampered his popularity even in the cow belt, despite the fact that he cannot speak fluent Hindi.
Mukherjee was often called to address any crisis the government faced whether it was political or to handle Centre-state relations, specially to handle the mercurial Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who did not even spare Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee by almost killing his chance for presidential polls, or handle the mass anti-graft agitation spearheaded by Team Anna.