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Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
Two main constituents of the ruling National Democratic Alliance - the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samata Party - appeared headed for a showdown on Friday.
Senior BJP leader and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan's statement on Thursday that NDA convenor George Fernandes travelled to Bombay to pacify Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray without Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapyee's authorisation, has caused much heartburn in the Samata camp.
An angry Samata Party spokesman Shambhu Srivastava told rediff.com that his party would not allow anyone to take its leaders for granted.
"Coalition politics demands that partners be treated with respect. We have seen in the past that the shortfall of just one vote can bring down a government," Srivastava said.
BJP president K Jana Krishnamurthy's recent suggestion that guidelines be framed for entry and re-entry of parties into the alliance has also been viewed as the party's attempt to set the coalition's agenda.
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