TDP stand may bring UF closer to power
N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras
With the Telugu Desam Party firm on maintaining 'equidistance'
between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the formation of a new government at the Centre, is the United Front closer to power than ever before?
Though the TDP stand has opened up such a possibility,
a lot with will depend on what the Congress has to say, and
how President K R Narayanan will perceive this, according to an
informed source.
"The TDP has problems only in working under a Congress prime minister, and should have no problems with a UF candidate,''
said the source. ''It will only be a continuation of the existing
set-up -- before the Congress withdrew support to the Gujral government.''
What he, however, does not rule out is the possibility of the Congress striking a tough posture against the UF, particularly, ''against the TDP holding the largest party in the non-BJP camp to ransom. Whatever be its internal contradictions, the Congress does not take such acts lying down.''
However, if the UF and the Congress come together, ''the President will face a problem in decision-making as another BJP government, they would try to convince, cannot survive the vote of confidence''.
As he points out, the short-lived Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was sworn in last time only to follow precedent. But it was known even then that H D Deve Gowda, as the leader of the United Front parliamentary group, commanded the majority, with the Congress promising its support in writing to then President Shankar Dayal Sharma.
Though a UF-led government is still 'theoretically possible',
a lot will also depend on the 'internal differences and ego clashes
within', which, in turn, can make the choice of a leader difficult,
added the source.
''The roles that the Congress and the Leftists
want to play, the differences between Dravida Munnetra Kazagham-Tamil Maanila Congress, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal-Rashtriya Janata Dal have to be addressed, if the combine has to be strengthened and expanded,'' the leader said. ''Whether the United Front and the Congress have the will and the time to address such problems, arising mostly out of ego clashes that have already ruined their political career, is the question.''
The leader added, as an after-thought, ''Maybe, in their games of oneupmanship, the Congress and the United Front constituents could let the bus pass them, and allow the BJP to form a government, by default. Let them learn to work together in the Opposition, all over again. Then, maybe, they can think of working together in a ruling coalition, if it came to that.''
Elections '98
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