The resigned PM

Because Manmohan Singh always seems on the edge of leaving.

Because Manmohan Singh always seems on the edge of leaving.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could be described as the resigned PM. A man of few words,he has maintained a stoic silence even during the most violent political storms. In his second term,he has constantly appeared to be a man about to resign and retire. Unsurprisingly,then,when it was announced that on January 3 the prime minister is to give a rare press conference,it touched off a bout of fevered speculation: What could be so momentous as to prompt the prime minister to speak,many wondered aloud,if not to announce his resignation? Although the prime ministers office has firmly scotched these rumours,the fact is that Singh gives a strong impression of wanting to make a dash for the exit.

UPA 2 has been peppered with the prime ministers will-he-wont-he moments. The man who dug in his heels,staked his government on the Indo-US nuclear deal,has faded into the past. Very soon after the UPA 2 got off the ground,Sharm el-Sheikh appeared to isolate the prime minister from his party. The opposition,smelling blood,has not missed a chance in baying for his resignation since then. No UPA scandal,whether it is the Commonwealth Games imbroglio,the 2G scam or the coal allocations controversy,has been complete without calls for the prime ministers head. And when Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tore into his governments ordinance on convicted lawmakers,calling it nonsense,it was assumed it was finally the last straw for Singh.

Looking back,over the years,Singh has outstayed the storms. But while each has swirled,the question of whether he would call it a day has seemed pressing. For a prime minister about to complete his second term,one who had led his party back to power with greater numbers than before,this constant interplay of tenacity and tenuousness has been a compelling watch.