With the resignation of Janardan Sharma as finance minister “to pave the way for a probe” into charges against him, questions have arisen who will lead the Finance Ministry now.

For the time being, Prime Minister Deuba himself will head the ministry.

Sharma announced his resignation during his address to Wednesday’s meeting of the House, which was boycotted by the main opposition CPN-UML.

Sharma is facing charges of bringing in two unauthorised persons in the Finance Ministry on the night of May 28 to change tax rates. A parliamentary committee also has been formed to investigate the allegations he faces.

Just as Sharma stepped down, the Election Commission recommended November 18 as the date for the federal and provincial elections.

A minister from the Nepali Congress said that since the economy is in bad shape and the new budget was announced only recently, the prime minister must be careful while choosing a new finance minister.

“We have advised the prime minister to pick an experienced hand as soon as possible,” the minister told the Post on condition of anonymity.

The way Prime Minister Deuba, also the Congress president, maintained silence despite Sharma facing criticism for failing to address the economic crisis and charges that he had changed the tax regime to benefit certain interest groups, some say, indicates he was reluctant to remove him.

Insiders say there was pressure also from Maoist chair Dahal, Deuba’s key coalition partner, not to initiate action against Sharma.

As per a power-sharing deal among the five coalition partners, the Finance Ministry was given to the Maoist Centre.

Sharma was appointed finance minister on July 13, the day Deuba took oath as prime minister and formed a four-member Cabinet.

Until the ruling parties do not name a new finance minister, Prime Minister Deuba is preparing to assign Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki to look after the finance ministry or Deuba may keep the portfolio with him, according to the minister.

On Wednesday evening, President Bidya Devi Bhandari assigned the responsibility of finance minister to Deuba as per the Article 77 (2) of the constitution after Sharma resigned.

A section in the Deuba camp is considering keeping the Finance Ministry with the Congress and giving the Home Ministry to the Maoist Centre.

Since the Maoist Centre does not have an expert hand to lead the Finance Ministry, some have suggested appointing a Congress leader as finance minister, another Congress leader said.

“The prime minister will hold a meeting with Maoist chair Dahal soon and discuss various alternatives,” the leader said. “The scenario will be clear within a day or two.”

Some Maoist leaders say Sharma will come back after a few days as finance minister as the parliamentary probe committee is unlikely to find anything against him.

The 11-member committee formed on Wednesday has been given 10 days from the day it commences its work to submit a report.

One name that has been doing rounds for new finance minister is Maoist leader Barsha Man Pun. He has served as finance minister in the past too, from August 2011 to March 2o13, in Baburam Bhattarai’s cabinet.

Pun, however, said no one is going to be appointed finance minister from his party immediately.

“High chances are Sharma will return after the probe is completed,” Pun told the Post. “Earlier when former finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat faced a similar parliamentary probe, he returned after getting the clean chit. So Sharma will also come back. It is just a matter of days.”

He ruled out himself as a candidate for finance minister.

“But I am not going to become minister for some four-five months. After the elections, I will be a minister for a longer stint,” Pun told the Post.

The question of who will become the finance minister and if that person will be from the Maoist Centre will also depend on the party’s internal political dynamics.

Dahal is under pressure to appoint 15 office bearers and the Central Committee meeting on Thursday is expected to take a decision.

The key position is party general secretary, which both Sharma and Pun are eying.

The reluctance of Deuba and Dahal to initiate action against Sharma also indicated that there were too many skeletons in the closet and they wanted to stop them from tumbling out.

Some say the entire idea of forming the probe committee is not aimed at pinning Sharma down but at exonerating him so as to ensure his comeback which is in the larger interest of both Deuba and Dahal as elections are approaching.

The Nepali Congress minister also hinted that Sharma could return as finance minister.

One Maoist leader said that the party will start deliberations on the new finance minister once it appoints its office bearers.

According to the leader, Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Shakti Basnet are two other names which could be considered.

The UML, the main opposition party, had demanded a parliamentary probe against Sharma ever since it was reported that he had allowed two outsiders to tweak tax rates.

Nepali Congress leaders joined the fray only after the Finance Ministry failed to produce the CCTV footage of the night of May 28.

Congress Vice President Dhanraj Gurung and General Secretary Gagan Thapa as well as central members including Ram Hari Khatiwada made public statements that either Sharma should resign or the prime minister should fire him and launch a probe into the charges of tax rate manipulation.

Pressure piled up as some civil society members also demanded Sharma’s resignation and a fair investigation into the allegations against him.

Prakash Sharan Mahat, spokesperson for the Nepali Congress, said that Sharma has just resigned and a parliamentary committee has been formed to probe the charges, so the scenario is still not clear as to who will succeed him at the Finance Ministry.

“The Finance Ministry was allotted to the Maoist Centre, so naturally they are likely to lay claim to it,” Mahat told the Post. “It’s a matter for Prime Minister Deuba and Maoist chair Dahal to sort out.”