Who Will Be Finance Minister if Pranab Becomes President?

Bangalore: The speculations that finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will move to the Rashtrapati Bhawan are getting intense. Further there are rumors in the Capital on Mukherjee's successor in North Block, though nothing has been decided yet.

The names that are being considered include rural development minister Jairam Ramesh - a former World Banker and an IITian - a loyalist of party president Sonia Gandhi.

But as the next budget is most likely to set the tone for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a North Block veteran may decide to keep the portfolio to himself.

One alternative could be the return of another North Block veteran, home minister P Chidambaram, to lead the economy.

But sources also point out that as the task involves dealing with the most serious problem since reforms began in 1991 - high inflation, a weaker rupee and global crisis - the focus of the headhunters may shift towards technocrats, who will be able to take tough decisions.

There is a strong buzz that Singh may choose to hand the ministry over to an experienced economist - planning commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia or chairman of the PM's economic advisory council C Rangarajan.

Sources also pointed out that Mukherjee's role could also be divided, with power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde becoming leader of the Lok Sabha.