Moopanar wants Congress to lead UF

DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi might have failed in his mission to bind the Communist Party of India-Marxist. Yet his ally G K Moopanar, founder-president of the Tamil Maanila Congress, does not seem to have given up hopes of jettisoning the Leftists in favour of the Congress. Moopanar reportedly wants the anti-Congress Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to quit as United Front convener.

''There is more than meets the eye in Moopanar's recent statement that Naidu is overburdened with his state affairs to give his full-time and energy to the United Front,'' concedes a top TMC source. ''The suggestion that the UF convener should be in day-to-day touch with the constituents is loaded, to say the least.''

According to this leader, Naidu is blowing hot and cold at the Congress as it suits him. But it will not help in the long run. ''There cannot be any anti-BJP set-up at the national level without the Congress. Even Naidu knows it, and acts accordingly while in Delhi. But once in Hyderabad, his political compulsions are different, and he attacks that party. This does not bode well for the UF.''

Moopanar has been consistent in seeking the inclusion of both the CPI-M and the Congress in the UF government. ''That alone will ensure the UF government's stability,'' he has said time and again. But behind this plea is a calculated move, his aides now concede.

''Moopanar's public posturing notwithstanding, he is convinced that the CPI-M will not join the government,'' said the TMC source. ''Which is also what he hopes for, given the UF's greater dependence on the Congress. The idea is to jettison the CPI-M, which is as much against the Congress as it is against the BJP. If other Leftists go with the CPI-M for their own electoral reasons, so be it.''

Moopanar's strategy reportedly stems from his early realisation that no minority coalition could survive for long with a major supporting party staying outside. ''Moopanar would favour the Congress ultimately leading the UF,'' said the leader.

In this context, the source refers to the coalition models in Kerala and West Bengal, where the major partner has been the leader. ''It beats me how the CPI-M could think of a different model for the UF,'' he added.

The TMC leader, however, concedes that any move to reshape the UF may lead to a formal split in the combine, and even early elections. ''Regional parties like the Asom Gana Parishad will back the Leftists, and that was why Moopanar suggested the dissolution of the Federal Front, of which the AGP is a constituent.''

While former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Party is expected to join such an amalgamation, it is the TDP that is expected to pose problems. ''Naidu's problem is understandable. The Telugu Desam has been propped up as an anti-Congress outfit, and it will be difficult for him to go against that tenet,'' says the TMC leader. ''Not that the Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh will readily accept him as their coalition leader, whatever the 'diktat from Delhi'.''

The TMC strategy involves the Congress and the TDP contesting the next general election on their own but joining the United Front as equal partners at the end. ''Between them, the two should corner most of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh, as they did in the 1996 poll. Maybe, we can work out some local arrangements the next time round,'' he said.

The TMC leader, however, does not dispute the possibility of the TDP or even the DMK siding with the BJP in the post-poll scenario. ''That may happen only if the BJP is in a position to muster enough strength,'' he said. He does not rule out the possibility of his own party joining such a BJP-led coalition. But given the local scenario, he said, the DMK and the TMC will fight the next Lok Sabha poll in each other's company.