Left won Gujral's fight for him

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

An all out effort from the Left parties which resorted even to political trickery was what saw senior Janata Dal leader Inder Kumar Gujral emerging trumps in the bitter United Front leadership tussle.

When outgoing UF leader and caretaker prime minister H D Deve Gowda tersely announced Gujral's election as the Front leader, and that it would be communicated to President Shankar Dayal Sharma on Sunday, it was quite apparent that considerable acrimony and heated words had passed between the combine's various constituents.

It is understood that in order to checkmate the other prominent candidates -- G K Moopanar, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan -- the Left initially backed Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. This made the contest more complex, and Laloo Yadav and Paswan reportedly backed out. Later, Mulayam Yadav also withdrew in Gujral's favour. And finally, under continuous pressure from the Left, Moopanar gave in.

The UF squabble, sources say, continued even after Gujral emerged winner. Some constituents persisted with their challenges to the decision and Moopanar repeatedly threatened to disassociate his Tamil Manila Congress from the UF.

The drama commenced in the morning with various UF leaders converging at the Andhra Pradesh and the Banga (West Bengal) Bhavans.

Communist Party of India General Secretary A B Bardhan was the first to tell waiting mediapersons the issue would be resolved by night. Thereafter, the UF convenor and Telugu Desam Party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav indicated the same.

A senior Forward Bloc leader, one of the UF's Left constituents, told Rediff On The NeT much before the meeting that Gujral would surely be elected leader because of "two qualifications." One, he was non-controversial, and had made his mark as a foreign minister. Second, he was acceptable to many UF leaders as well as the Congress whose support was vital. Gujral's relationship, the FB leader pointed out, was extremely cordial with the Congress.

What the FB leader did not say, however, was that Gujral's lack of political experience at the grassroots would enable the Left to exercise considerable control over him.

The UF crisis has clearly not ended with Gujral's election. In the coming days more sparks are sure to fly between the Front constituents.