Kesri's letter beat Left parties into line

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Congress chief Sitaram Kesri's letter to President Shankar Dayal Sharma extending his party's willingness to support another United Front government under a new leader is a well thought-out move to humble the Left parties.

A prominent member of Kesri's crisis management team said the party leader sent the letter after thorough discussions with Congress Working Committee members. The majority, he revealed, had felt it was the best course to adopt, in light of the Left parties's latent hostility towards the Congress.

The UF standing committee welcomed this Congress move, indicating the Left had also fallen in line with the majority move to replace Deve Gowda. This impression was strengthened when Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta in an interview stressed Deve Gowda had erred by not maintaining cordial relations with the Congress. Gupta's castigation is a clear indication of the Left parties's (who, till now, was solidly behind Deve Gowda) change of heart.

The UF recognition that they could not do without the Congress support has cleared the decks for the election of a consensus leader to replace the caretaker prime minister. .

However, UF spokesman S Jaipal Reddy's assertion its leader would be elected without any outside interference also indicated that the Front would hereafter proceed cautiously in its relations with the Congress. Further, sources say, the UF would set up a mechanism to coordinate with the Congress, once the new government came it being.

Thus, it becomes clear the UF leadership has not wholly jettisoned the Left parties's warning about the Congress tendency of political one-upmanship. This was why Reddy reiterated that though the UF was ready to accept Congress support, it had no intention of going for a coalition with it.

Meanwhile, G K Moopanar and and Inder Kumar Gujral remain the frontrunners for Deve Gowda's chair. While certain UF officials described Moopanar's chances as 'bright,' some others say that Gujral, too, is going strong.

Gujral's experience in foreign affairs, they pointed out, would count. And his lack of realpolitic would not be a major setback, as the UF leadership would be there to support him.