Renowned economist Arjun Sengupta and Congress Economic Affairs Secretary Jairam Ramesh are among the front-runners for the post of deputy chairman, Planning Commission, which fell vacant following the resignation of K C Pant.
Sengupta, who has served as member of the Commission, is understood to have the strong backing of the Left parties, while Jairam Ramesh is the hot favourite of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources said.
With mounting pressure from the Left parties there is a possibility that the government might have to give in, in which case Ramesh would be made member in the Commission, they said.
The name of Chief Minister of Uttaranchal N D Tiwari is also doing the rounds, the sources added.
