New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday allocated key portfolios to six out of 19 ministers with Pranab Mukherjee getting finance, P Chidambaram and AK Antony retaining home and defence, respectively, and Mamata Banerjee expectedly given charge of railways. NCP leader Sharad Pawar also retained his portfolios of agriculture, food, supplies and consumer affairs. The surprise was SM Krishna getting external affairs portfolio.

The limited allocation of portfolios, party leaders said, was made on the advice of the Prime Minister who preferred to get down to business and distribute portfolios for which there were no scope of second claimants. UPA managers hinted that the announcement of the remaining portfolios could take a couple of days as it was linked to negotiations over ministerial berths with the DMK. UPA negotiators are hopeful that a settlement with the southern ally will be reached by Monday and that they could be sworn in in the second phase on Tuesday. Dayanidhi Maran, TR Baalu and A Raja are the contenders for Cabinet berths while A Azhagiri and Kanimozi are likely to be made ministers with independent charge.

Senior minister Pranab Mukherjee’s shift from the external affairs ministry at South Block across the road to North Block is seen as a continuation of sorts as he has been handling the finance ministry for some time now and had even presented the interim Budget before the elections. In his first remarks, Mukherjee on Saturday hoped that the government would be able to present the Budget in due time to avoid uncertainties. However, he parried questions on whether the government would go for a vote-on-account now.

“Indian economy is resilient, strong and we shall have to build up and come back to the growth track as early as possible” he added.

The choice of Krishna for external affairs has come as a surprise to many, given that Kamal Nath was tipped to be frontrunner for the post. The choice signals that the 77-year old former Karnataka chief minister continues to be well regarded by the Congress leadership and is fit to become India’s face internationally.

The announcement of the portfolios came barely hours after Prime Minister Singh convened the first meeting of his Cabinet, where it was decided to hold the first session of the 15th Lok Sabha from June 1 to 9. In the first two days, new members of the Lok Sabha would take oath, Cabinet minister Vyalar Ravi told FE. President Pratibha Patil will address a joint session of Parliament on June 4 following which there will be a motion of thanks to the President’s address on June 8 and 9.

Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Ravi said the government would also strive to pass the Budget for 2009-10 by July 31 and try to restore the growth momentum of the economy reeling under the impact of the global financial meltdown. In case the government is unable to get the Budget passed by Parliament by July 31, “it may be necessary to take another vote-on-account for a very short period,” he added.

Cabinet Portfolios

P Chidambaram Minister of home affairs

With the UPA back in power, P Chidambaram returns to serve a second term as the home minister. It may have been just a touch-and-go for the minister from his Lok Sabha constituency of Sivaganga, but the tough taskmaster is all set to crack the whip in another five-year term at the Cabinet. Chidambaram’s pro-reform outlook at the finance ministry and his competent handling of the home portfolio after the 26/11 attack has earned him praise even from the Opposition. A trade union activist in his early years, Chidambaram later became the minister of state during Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao’s era and is credited for ushering in full market reforms and liberalisation. Besides being the finance minister in the last government, he is also a part of the Planning Commission. However, as the home minister, Chidambaram’s primary task now is to eliminate the threat to internal security, including militancy, insurgency and terrorism. Post 26/11, the focus will also be on strengthening security infrastructure. The multi-purpose national identity card project has to be widened beyond the coastal areas. Also the Naxal-affected states of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra need attention. With the Commonwealth Games approaching, safety of the players and viewers coming down from all across the globe is a matter of great concern. The government cannot but ignore the setting up of an integrated national security database and a national intelligence grid (NATGRID).