Congress may join United Front government

George Iype in New Delhi

In an effort to lend durability to the next United Front government headed by a new leader, the Congress might decide to join the coalition rather than continue its support from outside.

Party sources claimed that many senior leaders and Congress Working Committee members including president Sitaram Kesri want the party to participate in the new government, especially if the next prime minister is Tamil Maanila Congress president G K Moopanar.

Kesri's aides said he has more or less made up his mind not to continue with the arrangement -- unconditional support from outside -- that his predecessor P V Narasimha Rao struck with H D Deve Gowda.

Senior CWC member Ghulam Nabi Azad said the leadership is seriously examining a proposal for the party's participation in the new UF government.

"If a majority of party MPs insist that the Congress should join the government, then we will go for it,'' he told Rediff On The NeT.

Azad said a debate is on among party leaders about how the Congress presence in the UF coalition can enhance its chance of survival.

''A decision will be taken after the UF partners elect their new leader,'' he added.

Many Congress MPs aver that one of the reasons that compelled Kesri to withdraw support to the UF government was the marginalisation the party suffered under Deve Gowda.

"We want the party president to forge the new arrangement in such a way that it ensures that the UF leadership does not ignore Congress interests,'' Congress MP Professor P J Kurien told Rediff On the NeT.

"The Congress has a right to insist on a place of prominence in the new UF set-up as our party strength in Parliament is much higher than any UF partner,'' he observed.

Kesri will take a final decision on joining the government after discussing it with party MPs. He has, thus, begun meeting Congress MPs from various states to gather their support for the second stage of his gameplan.

He believes the Congress participation in the new government is essential in view of the rumblings in the party. Besides, his chances of getting re-elected as party president will be brighter if he succeeds in forging a new working arrangement with the United Front.

Kesri has also sought the advice of former prime ministers V P Singh and Chandra Shekhar. Both men favour the idea, suggesting that Congress participation in the new UF government will ensure its longevity.

Most of Kesri's critics -- Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot to name two -- have agreed to the proposal. But former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao is against the idea as he believes Congress participation in the UF government will destroy the party's credibility.

The Congress may thus demand its pound of flesh after the Front elects its new leader on Thursday. Kesri and his supporters are also veering around to the view that the Congress should insist on the party's representation in the UF steering committee.