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Congress decides it's going to be them or elections

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

The Congress has decided to form the next government on its own with Sonia Gandhi as prime minister.

The party will seek only "outside support" from the other parties and not form a coalition.

Congressmen are increasingly veering round to the view that this is the only way out of the present political stalemate.

Whether this view is acceptable to all remains to be seen, but the Left Front has already stated its intent of extending support from outside to a Congress government.

The Left Front is also keen to revive the Third Front and believes that by not joining a Congress-led government, its credentials for such a task will be better.

The Telugu Desam Party has already evinced an interest in reviving the defunct Third Front as long as it is not part of a Congress-led alliance.

Though the Congress has not yet stated its position officially, given the statements of certain parties such as the Tamil Maanila Congress, which has threatened to withdraw support if the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a part of the government, it has no other choice. Given the wafer-thin majority of the Opposition, withdrawal of support by a single party could spell disaster.

To make matters worse, some parties such as the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the All-India Forward Bloc and the Bahujan Samaj Party have already declared that they will not support a Congress government. On the other hand, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (National Democratic Front) has said it will only support a government that includes it.

The Congress view is that the RSP and the AIFB will ultimately toe the Left Front line while the BSP can be pacified with a deal in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Though the RLM will be offended, given the fact that RLM convenor Laloo Prasad Yadav owes a debt of gratitude to the Congress for saving his wife's government in Bihar, Congress politicians believe he will convince the front's president Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Moreover, say Congress sources, after having taken such a strong anti-Bharatiya Janata Party line, Mulayam Singh can hardly be seen to be unwilling to support a Congress government, because that will be a sure recipe for the BJP's return. Nevertheless, the Yadav remains a worry.

The real worry, however, is the TMC versus AIADMK struggle, and hence the view that it is best to not have any truck with any other party.

Congress leaders are confident that in the end, the other parties will fall in line with this view. "We are not willing to form a coalition government nor do we want to support another government from outside. Hence, if the other parties do not support us, it will be elections, which is something no member of the Lok Sabha wants right now," a Congress office-bearer said.

Congress sources said AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha met Sonia Gandhi today and asked her to take whatever steps she deems fit, promising her support.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Jyoti Basu also had a meeting with RLM politicians and Jayalalitha. He too is expected to convince them to lend outside support.

Congress sources said the party line became clear after the leadership realised that leading a coalition will put the party under tremendous strain, affecting the image it has carefully built up over the past year.

Gandhi, who remains a shy person despite being party president for a year, is also not keen to head a government full of people she hardly knows and over whom she may have no control.

"Sonia Gandhi can wield some authority over Congress members. But how will she manage people such as Mulayam Singh and Laloo Prasad, all of whom have their own agendas," said the sources.

The party knows that any government at this juncture will be a stop-gap and a mid-term election is inevitable in a few months. It believes that running a minority government will give it a better chance to implement its agenda and seek a fresh mandate. Heading a coalition will, on the other hand, force the Congress to cede the advantage to an increasingly aggressive BJP.

Meanwhile, Congress politicians P J Kurien and Oscar Fernandes met President K R Narayanan today and handed over a copy of the party's resolution authorising Sonia Gandhi to take all steps necessary to avoid dissolution of the Lok Sabha. The Congress is now waiting for the President to call upon Gandhi to form the government.

But any government formation is likely to be stalled till the pending Finance Bill is passed in the Lok Sabha, scheduled for April 21. Congress politicians expect an invitation from the President only thereafter.

The Congress is also confident of mustering letters of support from 272 members of the Lok Sabha. The BJP has been demanding that unless the Congress shows such support, it should not be called to form the next government.

Within the party, however, jockeying for various ministerial berths has already begun as Congress MPs have become aware that their party might form the next government, that too on its own.

RELATED REPORT:
Sonia gets inside support, but the outside proves difficult

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