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Opposition roots for Basu, but Congress is not enthusiastic

George Iype in New Delhi

After one week of political chaos triggered by the downfall of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, a divided Opposition continues to look for a viable alternative as the deadlock between the Congress and a dozen other parties persists.

Having realised that she will not be able to form a minority government, party chief Sonia Gandhi met most members of the Congress Working Committee and more than 50 MPs to seek their opinion on two other options: a Congress-led coalition or a Third Front government supported by the Congress.

Congress officials said most MPs preferred a minority government headed by Gandhi. Failing that, they were willing to accept a Congress-led coalition provided Gandhi heads it.

While Gandhi is yet to make up her mind and continues to negotiate with the Left Front and the motley crowd of regional parties, advocates of the Third Front and the proposed alliance declared that a new government would be in place in two days.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, and All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalitha led the negotiations with Gandhi.

Jayalalitha drove to Rashtrapati Bhawan to inform President K R Narayanan that since the Congress attempt to form a minority government had not taken off, she would now work for a Congress-led coalition or a Third Front government where all the regional allies could be partners.

But sources said Jayalalitha told the President that she believes a Third Front coalition headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu may be the only solution.

Jayalalitha also held discussions with Gandhi and Mulayam Singh to end the impasse created by the latter's refusal to support a minority Congress government.

Gandhi, meanwhile, sent Arjun Singh to Mulayam Singh once again to plead with him to agree to the idea of a minority Congress government headed by her. Yadav refused to relent, but told Singh he was receptive to any coalition except an exclusive Congress regime.

But Comrade Surjeet and his Communists continued to argue for the formation of a Congress-led coalition with Gandhi at its helm.

While Surjeet was still trying to get Mulayam Singh to agree to the proposal, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Forward Bloc continued to root for a Third Front government headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu.

Basu and Surjeet have so far refused to accept this option, but as pressure mounts on the Left Front to end the continuing political crisis, the CPI-M politburo will meet on Sunday to decide whether Basu should become the first Communist prime minister of India.

Official sources said Mulayam Singh, Jayalalitha and regional allies like the Telugu Desam Party and the National Conference are unanimous that Basu is the right choice to head a Third Front government if the Congress decides to support it.

"We will decide by tomorrow the shape of the new coalition that the CPI-M thinks is best suited to the country at this juncture. But we are yet to get a yes or no from the Congress," CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechuri told Rediff On The NeT.

He said the CPI-M is against participating in the new alternative government as a matter of principle, and hence Basu becoming prime minister. "But given the peculiar political circumstances, we have to debate within the party such crucial questions," he said.

But many believe opposition to Basu becoming the prime minister will come from the Congress as most senior party politicians abhor the idea of a Communist heading a government supported by the Congress. "If Basu becomes prime minister, it will be disastrous for the Congress. Therefore, we have cautioned Sonia against any such move," an MP who met the party president on Saturday told Rediff On The Net.

The Congress's opposition to a CPI-M candidate stems from the fear that the economic policies launched by it in 1992 will be reversed.

Therefore, under pressure from senior colleagues, Gandhi is likely to agree to a Congress-led coalition headed by her. If that does not work out, an official said, the Congress may support a Third Front government provided Gandhi can choose the prime minister.

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