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Former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna has emerged as the possible replacement of finance minister, P Chidambaram. In a meeting held at PM's residence on Wednesday (December 10), Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh discussed the possibilities of a minor shuffle in the union cabinet. Apart from Krishna, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and former RBI Governor, C Rangarajan were also considered for the finance minister's office.
The minor change in the cabinet is planned largely because of the feeling in the ruling party that the deteriorating economy could become a major issue during the build-up to the Lok Sabha elections. However, nothing has been revealed about the timing of the minor exercise. It worth mentioning that the current finance minister P Chidambaram has been vested with the additional charges of home minister in the wake of the terrorist attack on Mumbai.
The congress-led UPA government is thinking of appointing a full-scale finance minister who can handle the ministry efficiently instead of increasing the burden on P Chidambaram. SM Krishna emerges as strong frontrunner for finance minister's job because other candidates like Rangarajan and Ahluwalia do not have a very intense political exposure. The Congress leadership requires a full-blooded politician to handle the finance ministry at the time of global economic slump. Apart from it, the Congress party is also eying the forth coming parliamentary elections.
