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Jayalalitha puts decision on hold

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham front on Thursday 'unanimously authorised' alliance leader J Jayalalitha to take "appropriate decisions at the appropriate time" on continuing support to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre.

The question of withdrawing the alliance ministers from the Union council "does not arise", Thamizhaga Rajiv Congress leader and Union Petroleum Minister Vazhappadi K Ramamurthy told the media after the 90-minute talks at Jayalalitha's Poes Garden residence in Madras.

With this, the allies have put the ball back in the Bharatiya Janata Party's court, to end the stalemate caused by Jayalalitha's public announcement of 'review' of support to the Vajpayee government over the Cauvery waters accord.

By conceding Jayalalitha's suggestion for them to authorise her on taking a decision with some reluctance, they have also improved her bargaining power vis-à-vis the BJP. In New Delhi, meanwhile, BJP's spokesperson M Venkaiah Naidu announced that the BJP was not looking for a compromise, and was prepared for any eventuality.

According to informed sources, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S Ramadoss cautioned the meeting against any hasty decision that may not be received well by the masses.

"I have been meeting people regularly, both in the villages and towns, and I know their mood," he is believed to have said by way of explanation.

For his part, Ramamurthy too advised caution, wanting the allies to wait until the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal gave its final report, in about six months' time. "The Cauvery is flowing," was his cryptic remark when mediamen later asked him about the issue.

Indications are that the allies, other than Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy, who alone is said to be keen on withdrawing support, would like the BJP leadership to take the initiative and provide a 'face-saving method' for Jayalalitha to go back on her threat. "While we are against the fall of the Vajpayee government, we would like the BJP leadership to be less rigid in handling Jayalaitha," said one of them.

According to AIADMK sources, no decision is likely to be announced before Independence Day. "That's also the time available to the BJP leadership," says an alliance leader, adding, "Jayalalitha is also not so sure of the continued loyalty of all partners if it came to a showdown." For the present, they do not want "Jayalalitha to feel isolated and take a hasty decision".

For his part, Vazhappadi Ramamurthy has been more than sympathetic to the BJP's cause even while standing by Jayalalitha in public.

The PMK founder too has his reasons to back the BJP, as his party is due to get at least one more minister of state in the promised ministry expansion. "It will go to a Vanniar, the community which is the party's backbone," says a PMK leader, point out that the existing one is held by Dalit Ezhilmalai. Jayalalitha has been looking at MDMK leader Vaiko with suspicions of over-ambition.

What, however, added to the mystery of the day was the presence in Madras of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Janardhan Reddy, a friend of Jayalalitha, and another Congress leader, Jagdish Tytler, considered close to party chief Sonia Gandhi. While AIADMK allies were keeping their fingers crossed, both leaders denied all rumours of their possible meeting with Jayalalitha or anyone else from her camp.

Says an MDMK leader, by way of conclusion: "I will not be surprised if the BJP keeps quiet, and Jayalalitha announces the withdrawal of support some time next week. For the BJP, any contact with the Congress would be a sign of insincerity to the coalition, but for Jayalalitha it is a bargaining chip, if not the gateway to a future alliance."

The next move of the AIADMK allies will be known when Ramamurthy meets with the BJP leadership over the weekend, and try to formulate a strategy that is acceptable to both sides.

For the present, the AIADMK camp has received with satisfaction the news of the possible transfer of the Enforcement Directorate chief and also the revenue secretary -- a long-standing demand of the party, reiterated by Jayalalitha at her meeting with Defence Minister George Fernandes on Wednesday.

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