M A I N   N E W S

Know Your Ministers
Mr Dependable

Pranab Mukherjee (Finance)

A man for all seasons, Pranab Mukherjee is a rare politician and who can be called as a veritable encyclopedia on the Congress movement.

From the regime of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi he has been a minister in all party governments except the Rajiv Gandhi government between 1984 and 1989, when he went out of the Congress following the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. He has remained an eternal “number two” and his being sworn in just after the PM reflects his position in the present government also. He was a trusted lieutenant of late Indira Gandhi, under whom he became the Finance Minister . Incidentally, as FM in the 80s, he was the boss of now PM Manmohan Singh, who was then the Governor of Reserve Bank of India.

AK Antony (Defence)

Cool Customer

It is AK Antony’s (68) ultra clean image and touch with the grassroots in his home state of Kerala that he was a natural choice to be in the union cabinet. The mild-mannered Antony is expected to retain his portfolio as Defence Minister. He kept a low profile and excelled while keeping “unscrupulous” arms dealers at bay. He ensured transparency even as his detractors dubbed him “indecisive”.

Hard Taskmaster

P Chidambaram (Home)

A pro-fiscal reform image and hard taskmaster, who started implementing the home land and coastal security plan, P Chidambaram, 63, is the no-nonsense man in the union cabinet. He enjoys the faith of the Prime Minister and was handpicked as Home Minister after the Mumbai attacks.

A law graduate and a practicing lawyer. He studied at the Harvard Business School. An old Rajiv Gandhi loyalist, he was first inducted as junior minister in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet. He earned praise for his role in handling the militancy in Punjab.

Mamata Banerjee (Railways)

Power Player

Before the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha probably the biggest issues confronting West Bengal was land. The state government had been forcing farmers to sell off their land to make way for industry and the high-profile Tata Motors Ltd to set up their plant to manufacture the world’s cheapest car, the Nano. Taking advantage of the situation, Mamata Banerjee partnering the Congress led to the biggest embarrassment for the CPM-led Left parties in their stronghold.

Real Warhorse

SM Krishna (Foreign)

Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna was born in 1932 and is the former Chief Minister of Karnataka. Former Governor of Maharashtra Krishna resigned from the Governorship in March, 2008 with the intention to return to active politics in Karnataka.

Krishna has served multiple terms as a Member of Parliament from the Mandya district of Karnataka first in the fifth Lok Sabha from 1971-1976 and then in the seventh Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1984. — TNS