(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) India s ruling Congress party named Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as its nominee for president, capping a week of political turmoil that exposed the fragility of a coalition government that has lurched between crises as the economy sputters.
Mukherjee is expected to step down by June 24, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could take charge of his portfolio for the next several months.
There is no obvious successor to Mukherjee, but analysts said filling the vacancy was less important than the government overcoming internal divisions that have led to policy flip-flops on major economic reforms and scared off investors.
The government first though must work to gain the support of political parties for Mukherjee s candidacy for the largely ceremonial post.
"The UPA appeals to all political parties ... to support Pranab Mukherjee for the office of president," Singh s office said in a statement after a meeting of the Congress party and its allies.
Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi officially nominated Mukherjee at the meeting, though one key ally, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who rejected Mukherjee s candidacy, did not attend the meeting.
Banerjee, this week proposed that Singh s name be considered, an effective vote of no-confidence in the prime minister that raised the specter of the fragile coalition government breaking apart at a critical time for the economy.
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