Next Prez should be UPA nominee: PM
Singh played down the speculation, saying that the process of consultations had not been completed yet.
By Diwakar, TNN |
On Board Air India One: Manmohan Singh on Saturday said a ministerial reshuffle would take place after the presidential elections in July, while asserting that the next President should be a nominee of UPA since "we are the party in government".
"There should be a reshuffle. I think it will happen after the presidential polls," the Prime Minister said while returning to the Capital from Heiligendamm after deliberating global issues with leaders of those of emerging economies like China, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.
The remark ties in with the growing estimate about home minister Shivraj Patil emerging as the frontrunner among the presidential aspirants belonging to the UPA. Singh played down the speculation, saying that the process of consultations had not been completed yet.
Patil’s possible move to Rashtrapati Bhavan is expected to set the stage for the first shuffle of important portfolios. The Prime Minister had so far refrained from reassigning the key portfolios, limiting himself to tinkering on the margins.
A vacancy in the home ministry would require the Congress leadership to look for a Congressman with the same loyalty quotient as Patil’s but better political instincts. It would also test the validity of the speculation that newly-elected member of the Rajya Sabha, Kanimozhi, who is the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, may join the government.
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The speculation has lingered despite denials by the TN chief minister as well as his daughter largely because one of the cabinet berths allotted to DMK, which fell vacant because of Dayanidhi Maran’s ouster, is lying unoccupied. The Prime Minister chose an assertive tone while on the issue of presidential polls. He said that the next President would be a candidate belonging to UPA Left alliance. He also added that while he was no averse a consensus on the issue, it could be only over a candidate of UPA-Left alliance.
"Last time, when NDA came up with the name of A P J Abdul Kalam, we had accepted it. This time, therefore, we hope that NDA should endorse a UPA nominee," said Singh, making it clear that the ruling alliance was not averse to facing a contest should the rival NDA insist on fielding a candidate like vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
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