The UPA-2 Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee should be thankful to his estranged Bengali 'sister' Mamata Bannerjee, the head of the Trinamool Congress and West Bengal's Chief Minister, for being intrumental in hastening the process of his nomination as the ruling Congress party's candidate for the Indian President's office. The whole drama of disgusting speculations in the media and elsewhere did no credit to Indian politics and its politicians. The ruling party was the biggest culprit. In the eyes of the media and the average Congressperson, Mukherjee seemed the most suitable candidate. But, the party supremo, Mrs Sonia Gandhi did not appear keen on him. She knew that Mukherjee, 77, cannot occupy the PM's post; He had missed the bus a few times. Why? Perhaps, because she was not too sure of his full loyalty. That could have also been her reservation about Mukherjee's elevation to the President's post. Hence, all these weeks from April onwards, Sonia dilly-dallied. As late as 8-10 days ago, when Mamata met Sonia to discuss a possible Congress nominee, the former was given two names-Vice-President Hameed Ansari and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and, mind you, not just one name of Pranab. It was, thus, clear that Sonia was still wavering.
Therefore, looking back, one has no doubt that if Mamata had not spilled the beans in public about Sonia's thinking and, simultaneously, not announced the two names of the Congress and three names of her own-Abdul Kalam, Dr Manmohan Singh and Somnath Chatterjee-in the company of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sonia might have continued her dilly-dallying for some more time. Mamata's public pronouncement clearly stunned Sonia and forced her to act fast before greater damage to her and the party's image. To save her faithful and favourite underling Manmohan Singh a further embarrassment, she wasted no time to close the nomination chapter fortwith. Despite Mukherjee's long-held feeling of having been overlooked of the PM's post on a few previous occasions irrespective of his seniority and long experience in the party and the govt, he is deeply grateful to Sonia for elevating him to the Rashtrapati Bhawan at the fag-end of his political career.
Several critics are recalling Mukherjee's dubious record during the Emergency as well as in the portfolios of External Affairs, Defence, etc he had handled in the UPA, ending with Finance which, on most expert rating, has been a disaster. On only hopes that in this top-most office he will redeem himself as an independent, non-partisan Head of State who will not demean and disgrace himself and his august office by being a chamcha and a rubber stamp of the party and its President.
Therefore, looking back, one has no doubt that if Mamata had not spilled the beans in public about Sonia's thinking and, simultaneously, not announced the two names of the Congress and three names of her own-Abdul Kalam, Dr Manmohan Singh and Somnath Chatterjee-in the company of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sonia might have continued her dilly-dallying for some more time. Mamata's public pronouncement clearly stunned Sonia and forced her to act fast before greater damage to her and the party's image. To save her faithful and favourite underling Manmohan Singh a further embarrassment, she wasted no time to close the nomination chapter fortwith. Despite Mukherjee's long-held feeling of having been overlooked of the PM's post on a few previous occasions irrespective of his seniority and long experience in the party and the govt, he is deeply grateful to Sonia for elevating him to the Rashtrapati Bhawan at the fag-end of his political career.
Several critics are recalling Mukherjee's dubious record during the Emergency as well as in the portfolios of External Affairs, Defence, etc he had handled in the UPA, ending with Finance which, on most expert rating, has been a disaster. On only hopes that in this top-most office he will redeem himself as an independent, non-partisan Head of State who will not demean and disgrace himself and his august office by being a chamcha and a rubber stamp of the party and its President.
