New Delhi, May 17
In keeping with precedence and acknowledging that the Congress has emerged as the single largest party as well as being the largest political formation along with its allies in the 14th Lok Sabha, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has invited Sonia Gandhi for discussions on government formation either this evening or tomorrow.
The Congress President whose candidature for the Prime Ministership was endorsed unanimously yesterday is expected to meet Mr Kalam here tomorrow armed with the letters of support of nearly one score parties forming the just christened United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Mr Kalam’s letter was despatched to Mrs Gandhi towards the evening after the new House was duly constituted. The Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said: “The Indian National Congress has emerged as the single largest party and this party in combination with its other pre-election allies constitutes the largest political formation in the House.”
The President has set the ball rolling for the installation of a new government which he believes can provide a stable and viable alternative to the BJP-led NDA following the split verdict in the general elections.
The Congress-led UPA is set to form the government on Wednesday with the Left parties opting to extend outside support thus raising doubts about the stability of this
arrangement.
On her part, Mrs Gandhi and Congress strategists have adopted a step-by-step approach so that they are not caught on the wrong foot as far as the crucial arithmetic is concerned as was the case in 1999. Presently, the tally of the Congress and its pre-poll allies, the Left parties and others like the SP and RLD adds up to a shade less than 320 well in excess of the simple majority mark of 272.
The compulsions of the Left parties accounting for a record number of more than 60 seats in the House has impelled the Congress leadership to impress upon them to reconsider their decision.
Even though the Left parties contend that topmost priority has been accorded to keep the communal BJP front out of reckoning at the Centre, their non-participation in the government has sent signals that their support will be issue-based along with acting as a watchdog.
The CPI which was inclined to be in the government threw its weight behind big brother CPM for ensuring cohesiveness among the Left parties in pursuit of its agenda of economic reforms with a human face. The wide belief in the CPI with a tally of 10 seats in the House of the People was that if they broke the shackles and joined the government as evidenced in 1996 it will not be possible for them to make a significant impact. There are indications that they might review the situation as time goes by.
The Samajwadi party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal are prowling like wounded tigers with the Congress being lukewarm to their aspirations of being part of the UPA coalition Government.
SP’s Amar Singh and RLD’s Ajit Singh called on Mr Kalam in the afternoon and submitted letters extending the support of their respective parties to the Congress-led UPA. It did not allude specifically to backing the Prime Ministership of Mrs Gandhi. Mr Amar Singh insisted that this was inherent as she had been elected the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party.
The SP General Secretary also made it clear that they did not allow their ego to come in the way and went to Mrs Gandhi’s residence last night at the instance of CPM’s Harkishen Singh Surjeet primarily to prop up a secular front at the Centre. He also claimed that the SP had no desire or lust for joining the new government.
There is no doubt that if Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister moved to the Centre as part of the UFA government, that can create complications for him in the country’s most populous state where the Congress has aligned with his party.
The Left’s collective decision not to be part of the UFA regime and the DMK holding its horses for the present to assess if their critical demands encompassing repeal of POTA is met has added a new dimension to the tricky exercise of government formation.
Congress sources indicate that Mrs Gandhi might go in with a very small team to begin with till the serious differences on the economic agenda are reconciled through the common minimum agenda.
