Click to play videoNew Delhi: The post of the Union Minster of External Affairs has been lying vacant for over nine months after K Natwar Singh quit in the wake of the Oil-for-food scam.
Now speculation is rife that the post may see a new incumbent soon after a private comment made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Since November the Prime Minister has chosen to personally handle the Ministry of External Affairs. The job has proved that Mammohan Singh is more comfortable in a diplomat's hat than the handling the subtle diplomacy of running a coalition.
But with the United Nations General Assembly in New York just over a fortnight away things could change.
The PM is going to the NAM summit in Cuba next month and will not be able to attend the UN General Assembly.
At a dinner last week when the Prime Minister was asked who would represent India in New York, he said that there would be a new minister soon.
That remark has set off speculation that the Prime Minister may finally be ready to appoint a new Minister of External Affairs.
There are several high profile politicians in the running for the coveted post.
Maharashtra Governor SM Krishna who is keen to move back into active politics is seen as a front-runner while Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal is also seen as one of the favourites.
A more dramatic shift could take place if either Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee or Finance Minister P Chidambaram moves to the External Affairs Ministry.
The need for an External Affairs Minister is also being seen in the context of the growing pressures on the Prime Minister on the nuclear issue, which could be reaching endgame this winter.
"I think one of the reasons why a foreign minister has not been appointed for such a long time is the political compulsion in UPA and the Congress about whom to appoint. Secondly on the nuclear deal with the US the Prime Minister wanted to steer the course himself," foreign affairs expert G Parthasarthy said.
"Now that the Government has spelt out the its position on the nuclear deal in Parliament, it is basically a question of negotiating the details and that is best left to a foreign minister," Parthasarthy added.
While so far, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran along with Minister of State Anand Sharma are seen to have done an able job, there are still those who feel that a more high profile face may be needed to give a political face to the country's foreign policy.
Already, speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle has gathered momentum with the resignation of Labour Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao from the Union Cabinet.
And with the Prime Minister scheduled to leave for Brazil and Cuba in two weeks, the urgency to take a decision on filling up the empty slots may only increase.
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