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Bharatiya Janata Party politicians on Tuesday indicated that the Nationalist Congress Party could get the post of speaker of the Lok Sabha, which has been rejected by the Telugu Desam Party.
"It is a possibility, that's all I can say for the moment," Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told rediff.com
BJP parliamentary spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra refused to comment when asked whether the post could go to the NCP's Lok Sabha member and former speaker Purno A Sangma.
Significantly, TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu was to arrive in Delhi on Tuesday night or early on Wednesday to decide his party's strategy, including whether to continue supporting the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government after the BJP leadership refused to sack Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Though Naidu has not yet given any indication of breaking with the ruling National Democratic Alliance, he is under tremendous pressure from a section of his party to do so.
BJP politicians like Malhotra have been quick to underline that the TDP's rejection of the speaker's post does not necessarily mean it is breaking off from the NDA. But the fast-paced political developments involving the Opposition and some NDA allies have put a question mark on the government's well-being.
Left Front chairman and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu is also arriving in New Delhi on Wednesday. Since Naidu is already in telephonic contact with NDA politicians like Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Jan Shakti Party and Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal, United, observers attach much importance to the presence of these leaders in the national capital at this juncture.
Besides, the ostensible coming together of the Opposition has sent shudders of dismay through the BJP. Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday took the initiative to break the ice with her old adversary, Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party.
Newly sworn-in Rajya Sabha member and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav also clasped hands with the rival Yadav politician. In fact, Laloo Yadav told reporters that "since we two brothers have come together, it means the death-knell of the BJP-led government".
This is being perceived as a 'path-breaking' development because Laloo Yadav, who is close to Sonia Gandhi, hopes to end the longstanding rivalry between the Congress chief and her Samajwadi counterpart. If that happens, the constituents of the erstwhile United Front may come together again, which can only mean bad news for Prime Minister Vajpayee and the BJP.
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