M A I N   N E W S

Pawar for poll pact with Congress
Sangma revolts, may go to NDA
Anita Katyal
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 14
Despite a revolt in his party, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar will go ahead with the earlier plan to forge an electoral tie-up with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He was authorised by his party tonight to take a decision on the issue of alliances.

Mr Pawar has invited Ms Gandhi for tea to his residence tomorrow evening to discuss details of the NCP-Congress tie-up in Maharashtra. The NCP leader extended this invitation to Ms Gandhi when the Congress President spoke to him on telephone late last night, a day before his party’s crucial meeting on electoral alliances.

This will be the first one-to-one meeting between Ms Gandhi and Mr Pawar since the latter walked out of the Congress five years ago.

The issue of a tie-up with the Congress has, however, brought the NCP to the brink of a split as there are serious differences in the party on this matter, particularly since the NCP was formed on the issue of Ms Gandhi’s foreign origin.

These divisions came to the fore at the NCP’s Working Committee meeting tonight where former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma and former minister V.C. Shukla opposed any tie-up with the Congress. Mr Sangma is more inclined towards the NDA, but the NCP’s Maharashtra unit wants to continue its alliance with the Congress.

While these differences remained unresolved, the meeting authorised Mr Pawar to take an appropriate decision on alliances for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Admitting to the opposing views in the party, NCP spokesperson Praful Patel said the decision to authorise Mr Pawar was a unanimous one. In fact, Mr Pawar has also been asked to resolve the differences within the party.

Although the NCP might have managed to stave off an immediate split, it could be a matter of time before Mr Sangma leaves the party and ties up with the BJP-led NDA.

Earlier, confirming that Ms Gandhi had telephoned him, Mr Pawar said she told him that they should discuss the political situation as the Lok Sabha elections were approaching. The NCP leader said he told Ms Gandhi that since his party’s working committee was meeting today, it would not be proper for him to discuss the issue of alliances till he got the party’s mandate.

“I told Ms Gandhi that if the party authorises me, we can meet over a cup of tea to continue this discussion,” said Mr Pawar, admitting that there were divisions in the NCP on aligning with the Congress.

He, however, did not agree with Mr Sangma’s formulation that the party go in for state-specific alliances, stating that there had to be one national policy for a Lok Sabha election. He also denied any talk of a tie-up between the NCP and the BJP-Shiv Sena combine, adding, “There was never any talk of seat-sharing...not from our side”.

Ever since her Mumbai rally where Ms Gandhi announced the Congress party’s decision to look for like-minded friends, she has personally spoken to or met all potential allies.

She had told Press persons recently that she would be speaking to Mr Pawar personally.

Lok Sabha dissolution likely in February
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 14
The Lok Sabha is likely to be dissolved on February 6 after a Vote-on-Account during a four-day brief session of Parliament beginning on February 3.

Since the winter session was not prorogued, a simple notice from presiding officers is required for convening a session and there is no need to hold a joint session of Parliament.

The BJP leadership, during its National Executive meeting in Hyderabad this week, had recommended that the Parliament session be held in the first week of February to enable the Election Commission to announce the poll schedule by the third week of the month.

The Lok Sabha would not conduct any official business on the first day of its sitting and would be adjourned after paying an obituary to a sitting CPI member from Punjab, who died recently, the sources said.

Finance Minister Jaswant Singh would seek a Vote-on-Account in the Lok Sabha on February 4 and in the Rajya Sabha on February 5, sources said.

The Cabinet is expected to meet on February 6 to pass a resolution recommending the President’s dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is understood to have spoken with Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi in this regard and apprised him of the government’s decision, sources said.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had already announced at the BJP’s National Executive in Hyderabad that the Lok Sabha poll would be advanced and the process would be over by the end of April.

With the government making known its decision about the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the ball is now in the Election Commission’s court. Chief Election Commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh will retire on February 7 and the government now has to appoint a new incumbent who will work out the poll schedule. The Centre has dropped enough hints that the election might be held between March 25 and April 25.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the government is seriously thinking of ignoring the precedent by appointing a Chief Election Commissioner instead of promoting T. S. Krishnamurty to take over from Mr Lyngdoh who is retiring on February 7.

If the government does appoint a CEC, Mr Krishnamurty may “quit” if the precedence of seniority is not followed, sources said.

A crisis may erupt if Mr Krishnamurty quits and the government has to seriously weigh the pros and cons of such a move, a senior official pointed out, adding that the BJP and the ruling NDA would have to be ready for criticism by media and political circles.