Cabinet reshuffle on cards, new FM to be named

Congress Rajya Sabha MP S M Krishna is emerging as one of the front-runners for the Finance portfolio even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is said to be contemplating a Cabinet reshuffle as early as this evening with possible in-house upgradations for the vacant slots of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and Coal.

Government sources confirmed to ‘The Indian Express’ late on Tuesday that the name of 76-year-old former Maharashtra governor was discussed at the highest levels to succeed P. Chidambaram as Finance Minister. Other names that have figured for the key slot are Commerce and Industries Minister Kamal Nath and technocrats like Deputy Chairman (Planning Commission) Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Rajya Sabha MP C. Rangarajan.

But party sources said Krishna’s name had not been finalised and there was a possibility of getting a new Finance Minister from outside for the next three months before the code of conduct starts for the next Lok Sabha election. According to them, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal could hold additional charge as Environment, Forests and Climate Change. There is also speculation over the return of Digvijay Singh to the Cabinet but that has been ruled out by party leaders.