NEW DELHI, 18 October 2006 — The much-awaited reshuffle of the union Council of Ministers is likely to be a pre-Diwali affair.
Senior leader Pranab Mukherjee has emerged a frontrunner for the foreign minister’s slot. Mukherjee’s name has suddenly gained ground in political circles despite the defense minister reportedly not very keen about the job.
This is given the fact that he is also the leader of the Lok Sabha, which would make it difficult for him to travel abroad during Parliament days.
Mukherjee is also wearing many hats. Besides being the West Bengal Congress chief, he is also a member of the all powerful Congress Core Group, heads or is part of several important Cabinet committees.
Other names also talked about for the key position were Kamal Nath, Kapil Sibal, Maharashtra Gov. S.M. Krishna and senior Congress leader Karan Singh.
While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has kept everyone guessing about his choice for the post by saying “you won’t have to wait for too long,” government sources said the exercise could be before Diwali.
The vacancy arose last October when Natwar Singh was forced to resign after his name appeared in the Volcker report on Iraq’s oil-for-food scam.
