New Delhi: AK Antony is the real surprise appointment, especially, if he takes over from the veteran, Pranab Mukherjee. It will be his first big post at the Centre.
Another man widely perceived to be honest in the Union Government. Sixty-six-year-old A K Antony's squeaky clean image had earlier helped him stay on top of Kerala politics before he got caught in the factional politics.
In recent times, A K Antony has been employed as a troubleshooter of sorts within the party.
As Karnataka affairs in charge, he did try to broker a deal with the JD-S earlier this year only to fail.
Antony became the youngest chief minister of Kerala as a 37-year-old in 1977. It took him more than 15 years to become the chief minister again, this time for a year between 1995 and 1996.
When the LDF swept the Congress out of power, Antony was leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly for five years between 1996 and 2001. And the political winds of change brought him back to the drivers' seat in 2001.
But after three turbulent years, marked by infighting, he abruptly resigned just after the Lok Sabha elections in 2004, when the Congress received a severe drubbing.
Antony's political star has never waned though. And now it's taken him to the Union Cabinet.
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