It's going down to the wire

The match is being played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, but the entire financial world is watching it

- TAMAL BANDYOPADHYAY

Will he? Won't he?

Once the results of the Maharashtra assembly polls were out on November 23, everybody was asking this question: Will Devendra Fadnavis be the chief minister?

As I write this column Sunday morning, a similar question is keeping the Indian financial system occupied.

Will he? Won't he?

If he doesn't, who will succeed him?

Also, if he gets another term, what will be its length—one year or two years?

Yes, I am talking about the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) 25th governor, Shaktikanta Das, who will complete his six-year term on Tuesday.

Till about a fortnight back, people thought yet another term was a given. But since the announcement was taking time and the government kept quiet, curiosity gained momentum. Finally, on November 29, when the GDP print for the second quarter of the current financial year was released, the question, which was until then whispered in the corridors concerned, got louder and spilled into the street before becoming the talk of the town.

The speculation intensified with Prime Minister's Principal Secretary PK Mishra's meeting with Das while the former was in Mumbai to deliver the 19th CD Deshmukh Memorial Lecture on November 28 and the governor's presence in the North Block on Saturday.

In the past, there have been instances of a new governor assuming office at very short notice. Das himself was chosen for the job the day Urjit Patel resigned citing personal reasons, and he assumed office the very next day. D Subbarao's name as YV Reddy's successor was announced three days before Reddy demitted office.