Current juncture, toughest in my political life: Pranab Mukherjee

DELHI: China's paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, once said the basic principles of the Middle Kingdom's foreign policy should be "observe developments soberly, never claim leadership, bide our time and remain free of ambition". Pranab Mukherjee, who is fond of quoting the father of Chinese economic reforms, may at last be getting ready to claim the nation's titular leadership.
In conversation with The Economic Times at his residence after work, Mukherjee, who joined the Cabinet for the first time in 1973 as minister of state for industrial development, appeared to confirm, though in an elliptical manner, widespread speculation that he would indeed be interested in succeeding Pratibha Patil as president. "I love to walk in the morning... all by myself and my thoughts. I take 40 rounds of my lawn measuring 90 metres, which, I am told, makes about three-and-ahalf kilometres," Mukherjee said.
"The President's House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, has large lawns. One would not need 40 rounds," he said, when asked about the possibility, which he insists is entirely hypothetical, of moving to a loftier address. If nominated by the Grand Old Party, the presidency might be his for the taking, judging by the cross-party support he seems to enjoy. During the debate on the Union Budget, former FM Yashwant Sinha, ordinarily a strong critic of the government, was copious in his praise for Mukherjee.
The budget itself was widely panned, resulting in numerous measures being rolled back, but little of this attached itself to Mukherjee. Remarkably, given that many economists feel the recent months of his tenure have seen a series of missteps that have sent investors scurrying for the exit and the rupee plunging to record lows, 29 out of 50 CEOs in an ET poll ranked him six or higher (on a scale of 10) as finance minister.
The participants in the poll further confirmed his Teflon quality by picking him over incumbent Manmohan Singh as well as Gandhi family scions Rahul and Priyanka, when asked who would make the best prime minister. Indeed, by some accounts, prime ministership is the one post really coveted by the 77-year-old. One version of how the presidential sweepstakes could play out has Manmohan Singh becoming president with Mukherjee replacing him as PM.
In the past, Mukherjee has denied any prime ministerial ambitions, citing, among other things, his inadequate command over Hindi.
In the conversation with ET, Mukherjee was cautious about what may lie ahead, no doubt aware of the many slips between the cup and the lip. "There is a long way to go. We are all aware of the situation and the numbers at play. The cards will be revealed in due course," he said, referring to the presidential elections, as he leans back after a long tiring day in Parliament; a day on which he lost his cool as the Opposition relentlessly attacked his Cabinet colleague and alleged rival, Home Minister P Chidambaram, on a telecom scam allegedly involving his family.
"July 24 is sometime away and there is a lot to be done before that," said Mukherjee, even as he recounted how his party leader, a worried Sonia Gandhi, forced him to cool down with a cup of coffee in the Central Hall earlier that day.
Mukherjee, who was writing his diary, a practice he has followed for the past 40 years, when ET reporters caught up with him, said talk of his indispensability was much exaggerated. "Nobody is indispensable in life or politics. India survived after Nehru, Mrs Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi," was his cryptic answer when asked how the government or the Congress party would survive without him, if he were to move on to Raisina Hill. Mukherjee is the leader of the Lok Sabha, and despite his protestations, no obvious replacement appears to be in sight, according to political observers.