Sonia’s men want to sit in Oppn

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4: Under pressure from the pro-Sonia lobby in the CWC, the Congress appears to be changing its mind on staking claim to for...

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4: Under pressure from the pro-Sonia lobby in the CWC, the Congress appears to be changing its mind on staking claim to form the government, aiming instead to form a fresh secular front and stay in the Opposition while the BJP grapples with government formation.

The difference of opinion surfaced strongly in two informal CWC meetings which ended today afternoon. The younger members in the CWC like Madhavrao Scindia, Ahmed Patel and others like Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik are resisting the idea of heading a government heavily dependent on the United Front’s support. This group feels that a BJP-led government, should it be possible, will be fragile and unstable leading to another round of instability.

The Congress would be in a better position to handle the situation after the BJP goes through the pangs of putting together a shaky coalition, this section has been stressing in CWC parleys. Although there is no indication of any hint from Sonia Gandhi yet on which path to follow, thepro-Sonia lobby is claiming they have her backing in not attempting to form a government.

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Even outside the CWC, opinions are coming in against rushing to form a government on the anti-BJP plank. The West Bengal and Tripura PCC units sent messages to party president Sitaram Kesri today saying the UF’s support must not be sought. Former Union Minister Kamal Nath, who has been returned to the Lok Sabha from his native seat Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh), is also against any attempt to form a government.

This group has told Kesri that despite having everything in its favour, and projecting Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime ministerial candidate, the BJP peaked in the election with only around 180 seats on its own. Logically then, the anti-government lobby says, the Congress will have an advantage if it waits.

However, Kesri is pushing for heading the next government with the UF’s support and is likely to argue his case in the first formal CWC meeting after the elections tomorrow evening. Another CWC member SharadPawar also said yesterday in Mumbai that a secular government will be formed, an opinion which colleagues like Ghulam Nabi Azad are banking on.

Party spokesperson V N Gadgil admitted that the party was divided. “There are two views. One is to keep the BJP out, we must form a government. The other is to allow a BJP-led coalition which won’t last long and that it is in the interest of the party to sit in the Opposition,” he said. Yet, these are early days and anything is possible.

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The contradictions within the party are thus emerging on the question of forming a government. The anti-Pawar group has been resisting any idea of a Congress-led government to stall the possibility of Pawar taking the lead. For example, a poster extolling Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar was hastily removed from the AICC headquarter’s walls by the evening.