DELHI: Having decisively crossed the first hurdle of retaining the leadership of the Congress, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao is believed to have now started moving. Towards his ulterior goal of coming back to power through the back door of the Lok Sabha.
Although his party has been reduced to a mere 136 MPs, Mr. Rao has not given up hopes of continuing to reside at7 Race Course Road, In fact, there are indications that he has an elaborate game plan to win the numbers game in the Third Front.
Now that the Third Front appears to have blown its chances of staking a credible claim to form the government, Mr. Rao is steadily working on MPs belonging to the National Front, Left Front, dissident Congress factions and regional parties to enlist their support, Since he has already been successful in breaking the ice between him and the Third Front by raising the BJP bogey, Mr. Rao is confident that he could persuade them ultimately to back a government led by him.
The ousted Prime Minister’s strategy is based on the assumption that even if President Shankar Dayal Sharma invites BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form a government, he ‘would not be able to prove his majority on the floor of the House, Mr. ‘Sharma would then be duty bound to call upon the second largest party to Stake its claim to form a government. Mr. Rao then could turn to all parties and groups who have already committed themselves to an anti BJP platform to support a Congress government. Even if some of them support and others abstain in such a scenario, he could scrape through a confidence vote in the Lok Sabha.
Mr, Rao’s emissaries are reported to have already sounded leaders of the Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party and not received a wholly unfavorable response, As a matter of fact, leaders like Mr. Deve Gowda, Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr, Malayam Singh Yadav are believed 10 be desperate enough to join hands with a Congress government 10 stop the BJP at all costs. While Mr, Gowda and Mr. Prasad are worried that a BJP government at the center could jeopardize their state governments, Mr. Singh is anxious about the coming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP is his main rival. Despite their announce~ ment last week that they would not support a Congress government, it may become difficult for them to maintain this position once the option of a Third Front government is closed.
‘There are also concerted attempts by Mr. Rao to bring back to the fold panty rebels like the Tamil Manali Congress and even the Tiwari group now that Mr. Arjun Singh has been humiliated in the hosting. The Rao camp expects the dissidents to sing a different tune if the Congress actually had a reasonable chance of coming back to power. ™ Similarly, various regional leaders: have been tapped for overt or tacit support. AS for the Left Front, ala though they may not support a Congress government, even abstentions: could help Mr. Rao to install a minority governments There is a double purpose behind this game being played by Mr. Rao. He is aware that his hold over the Congress cans ast only as long as he is ‘able to keep alive hopes amongst his party men for a return to power.
Mr, Rao may have failed his party in’ winning elections, but most Congressmen have implicit faith inhis skills as a political manipulator. These have been further underlined over the past few days with Mr. Rao having checkmated his challengers within the party and outside with ridiculous ease, So much so, that the Congress is still hoping that their leader can pull off an impossible victory from an electoral rout.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 15, 1996
