NEW DELHI: There are reports that quick taxis is being formed by certain state leaders such as N.D. Tiwari of U.P., Sharad Pawar of Maharashtra and Arjun Singh of Madhya Pradesh against name minister Narasimha Rao, Tiwan and Singh had a meeting at Delhi while Pawar met Tiwari at Varanasi at dinner. Pawar remarked at a public function that Tiwari was like an elder brother to him. He noted that Tiwari had lost preeminence as leader of late but everything would be all right soon.

There are reports that the various factions of the ruling party are gearing up for a trial of strength to be held next month at the proposed session of the All India Congress Committee Prime Minister’s supporters expect big attacks on the government’s economic policies of liberalization. He will also face opposition to the proposal to include the Ajit Singh faction of the Lok Dal in the ruling party.

Tiwari might emerge as a candidate for one of the vacant posts to the Congress Working Committee. This will provide an occasion to dissidents to show their strength vis-a-vis the prime minister. However, Tiwaris supporters are trying 10 gauge the extent of his support. Tiwari who is known for his cautious nature was unlikely, to file his nomination papers unless he was confident of victory. They said that even if Tiwari did not contest, the Prime Minister would probably dominate him as now he (Rao) can leave him (Tiwan) free. Thus, Tiwan, they said, is all set to get a foothold in the capital. The Prime Minister’s camp, however, has had a small victory in scuttling the proposed Narrow type camp that was scheduled to be held in Pachmarhi this month. Originally louted as a major step to rejuvenate the party, Pachmarhi isnow being dismissed as. an exercise in futility. Technically, it is still on the party’s agenda but senior leaders are openly voicing doubts about it yielding any positive results. They also argue that with the AICC session scheduled for October, the Pachmarhi camp should not be held around the same time, This view is likely to prevail since other groups in the party are also more interested in the AICC session.

A large number of AICC delegates are expected to raise the issue of disinvestment (privatization) in the public sector, especially in the wake of the current scandal in the stock exchange and banking sector. A large section of the party feels that the public sector remains relevant since the private sector has not entered all core areas of the economy and that certainly commercially viable public sector units should not be handed over to private hands,

There is also fierce opposition to the so-called exit policy retrenchment scheme under the National Renewal Fund which is considered politically suicidal: Party sources point out that ever since Finance Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated his economic liberalization policy, the rank and file had been feeling uneasy about some of its components.

Union ministers Arjun Singh and the move to cut subsidies for the farm sector. Party sources apprehend that the Kanpur session may witness a modification of the government’ s economic policy to cater to these sentiments as in the case of the May 1985 session chaired by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi,

Politically, the Prime Minister’s camp anticipates powerful opposition, especially from the delegates of the northern states, to a move to induct the Ajit Singh group into the party.

The Arjun Singh faction is already upset at the high status given to Water Resources minister Vidya Charan Shukla, who had been a member of the previous V.P.Singh and Chandra Shekhar government as well. Sections of the party in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh feel that the Ajit Singh group will not be an asset to the party. Rather the group will only aggravate the party’s problems since it is not politically stable.

Party sources said that as a concession to this section, the high command had decided to drop the move to bring former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar back to the party fold. Uttar Pradesh Congressmen had been unhappy at the reported attempt to admit Shekhar on the grounds that he would seek to dominate them. A senior leader said that having succeeded in winning the no confidence motion and getting the Deputy Chairman’s post in the Rajya Sabha with Shekhar’s support the Congress no longer needs him.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 18, 1992