Janata Dal may clash with Federal Front over Deve Gowda's successor

George Iype in New Delhi

Three days after H D Deve Gowda lost the vote of confidence in Parliament, the United Front has been hijacked by the Federal Front consisting of the four regional parties.

UF partners expect Deve Gowda to step down as their leader by Thursday. But his Janata Dal colleagues Chand Mahal Ibrahim and Ram Vilas Paswan are worried that the plan to sacrifice the prime minister to satisfy the Congress demand has been devised by the Federal Front leaders.

The Federal Front -- comprising the Asom Gana Parishad, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Telugu Desam Party and the Tamil Maanila Congress -- has 59 seats in the Lok Sabha.

JD leaders fear that the regional bloc's machinations have diminished the chances of a senior Dal leader like External Affairs Minister Inder Kumar Gujral succeeding Deve Gowda. Ibrahim and Paswan are said to have termed the regional parties as "opportunists" when the prime minister convened the UF political affairs committee meeting on Sunday.

That the transition of power will not be smooth is certain from the rumblings of protests in Janata Dal quarters. Many expect that Deve Gowda's exit will trigger yet another stand-off in the UF-- mainly between the Federal Front and the Dal -- over the leadership issue.

Interestingly, the campaign to dump Deve Gowda, planned by the Federal Front, has the blessings of JD president and Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and its working president Sharad Yadav.

TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is presently the convenor of both the Federal Front as well as the United Front. Though Naidu has time and again made it clear that he is not in the race for the prime minister's post, his colleagues admit that he may be the dark horse.

Accordingly to Naidu's close associate, TDP MP Dr M Jagannath, the Federal Front did not plan to remove Deve Gowda as UF leader. "But we apprehended that there may be no alternative to a mid-term poll if the present crisis continued,'' he said.

Dr Jagannath told Rediff On The NeT that Naidu is not a contender for the prime minister's post as he does not wish to give up serving his home state now. "But he will be forced to take up the post if a consensus emerges among the UF partners about his candidature," he added.

While the UF constituents have began hectic negotiations to locate Deve Gowda's successor, sources said TMC chief Govindswamy Karupaiah Moopanar is the most acceptable choice among many leaders including Congress president Sitaram Kesri.

Though his plan to lure the breakaway Congress in Tamil Nadu headed by Moopanar to the parent party failed to take off, Kesri's associates said Moopanar is the only UF leader that the Congress chief is comfortable working with.

Kesri's game plan, sources say, envisages the Congress joining a Moopanar-led government in due course.

Deve Gowda and his loyalists are likely to oppose the Federal Front's efforts to prop up Moopanar as prime minister. "We need someone from the Janata Dal to succeed Deve Gowda," a senior JD leader said, pointing out that former prime minister V P Singh is all for making Gujral the next premier.

However, the efforts by Deve Gowda loyalists and the Federal Front to win the next prime ministership largely depends on the support they get from other UF partners like the Left parties and the Samajwadi Party.

While SP chief and Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav is said to be inc;lined towards the Federal Front, the Left Front will probably walk out of the UF if Moopanar is made prime minister. The Left leaders are worried that Moopanar will be a bad choice for the UF as they expect the Congress to be more influential in a Moopanar-led regime.