NEW DELHE: The new assignment which brought Kerala Chief Minister K, Karunakaran to the capital and the he active flow of visitors witnessed in Kerala House on the weekend have all strengthened the speculation that he may emerge as an alternative to Pome Minister Narasimha Rao.

Rao’s trusted friend from Kerala was chosen by himself to execute a crisis management plan for his government, Karunakaran with half. A Century’s record as a Congressman is seen in many circles as the man who can replace Rao if the latter eventually decided to quit after he survives the no confidence motion. Karunakaran can be, it is said, Rao’s own candidate.

Political circles are agog with varying interpretations of the new role assigned to Karunakaran. It is not without significance that he was chosen to tackle a tough north Indian group leader like Ajit Singh and negotiate terms for his support.

Later the reports said, the Janata Dal may bail out the Narasimha Rao Government in the monsoon Session of Parliament by abstaining to vote on the proposed no confidence motion, according to available indications.

Although the party’s parliamentary group on Friday deferred a decision regarding the vote, a senior party leader said that if the current trends hold, the party’s 20strong block in the Lok Sabha could well abstain from voting cither way on the no trust motion.

Even as abstention by the Janata Dal (A) could be helpful to the beleaguered Government as it would deprive the Opposition of 20 crucial votes in the total of 267 needed to carry the motion through.

So far if the Ajit Singh group of the Janata Dal members were to be excluded from the committed block of opposition votes, the proposers of the no confidence motion can be sure of only 228 votes.

The AIADMK which has 11 members in the Lok Sabha, the Jharkhand, Mukti Morcha (five) and the Indian Union Muslim Leagues with its two representatives have not yet given indications of which way they will vote on the motion.

According to sources in the Congress, the political managers of the Government have now virtually given up their efforts to win the support of Opposition parties for the survival of the minority Government.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 23, 1993