UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has zeroed on Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to be the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha in place of Pranab Mukherjee. Though names of Home Minister P Chidambaram, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath and even petroleum minister S Jaipal Reddy are doing the rounds for the post.
These three are equally senior in the party and parliament though Reddy is considered junior to them and new in the party as well. Shinde and Chidambaram have been in parliament for more than 30 years and have held senior positions in the party and the government. Though they are junior compared to Pranab Mukherjee, who had personal equations with top leaders of the Left and veterans such as Atal Behari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, Jaswant Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad and even Yashwant Sinha, a bitter critics of his economic policies.
Pranab is expected to resign from the Union cabinet after the Prime Minister returns from his two-nation tour and also from the post of the Leader of the House. There is a talk of Cabinet reshuffle and organisational revamp. But this seems unlikely given the scenario that Congress is trying hard for unanimity on the presidential poll for Pranab Mukherjee. Therefore, it will not be prudent to think of any cabinet reshuffle. What Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh decide on the Finance portfolio is still not clear.
But Shinde’s appointment as Leader of the House look certain because of two reasons—the Leader has to maintain cordial relations with all the parties- a forte of Shinde. Chidambaram is having troubled times with the Opposition. So he may not be given this post. Kamal Nath, though senior, has been a back-room boy of the party. But his prospects do not look bright. His shifting from commerce to urban development was considered a set back for him.
Therefore, Shinde’s induction is most likely. In fact, Shinde’s name was once considered for the post of the President. But pending Adarsh case probe dampened his hopes.
