Vaghela's fate in balance
Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay
Gujarat Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela's fate hangs in balance as his Revenue Minister Atmaram Patel has decided to buy time till the Congress decides to pull the rug from under the Rashtriya Janata Party leader.
Quashing rumours that Patel had patched up with the chief minister, sources said the 79-year-old minister ''will continue to be loyal to Vaghela as long as he enjoys Congress support''.
The smart move seems to have been inspired by Congress president Sitaram Kesri himself. Caught between the Gujarat Congressmen's clamour for Vaghela's blood and Atmaram Patel's inability to mobilise support among RJP legislators, Kesri seems to be watching the situation carefully before he moves in for the kill.
Speaking to Rediff On The NeT, an Atmaram Patel confidant said, "Kesri called the revenue minister on Saturday evening, informing him that the support to the Vaghela government will be withdrawn before September 30. Kesri asked Atmaram Patel to continue his association with Vaghela till then."
Though it now seems likely that Vaghela's fate has been sealed, it is not certain who will succeed him, following the serious apprehensions raised against Atmaram Patel's candidature.
Gujarat Congress president C D Patel told Rediff On The NeT that not a single RJP MLA was present when Atmaram Patel camped in Delhi on Wednesday and Thursday to seek the Congress high command's support.
Meanwhile, Vaghela has stepped up efforts to save his government. The chief minister is camping in a farmhouse at Mehsana, reportedly with RJP legislators. The chief minister called a meeting of party MLAs on Saturday morning to crystallise his strategy. However, 20 MLAs, including Atmaram Patel, boycotted the meeting, a source close to the revenue minister said.
"Even those who attended Saturday's meeting will revolt against Vaghela once the Congress makes its position clear," he added.
Commenting on Atmaram Patel's decision to back Vaghela ''for the time being'', Congress Legislature Party leader and former chief minister Amarsinh Chaudhary told Rediff On The NeT, "He is free to support the government as long as Vaghela is chief minister. However, he can form a government when the Congress president decides to withdraw support to Vaghela. All the RJP MLAs will support Atmaram as no one wants elections at this juncture."
Confirming this, sources said that 80 per cent of the Gujarat Congress leaders want Vaghela to go as he was destroying the party's vote banks. They made this clear to party observer Pranab Mukherjee when he visited the state recently.
As for the Bharatiya Janata Party, few take party president L K Advani's statement at face value. On an unscheduled visit to the state earlier this week, Advani said that a mid-term election was the only way out.
As the BJP needs only 14 MLAs to form the government, it is difficult to be believe that the party will ignore this opportunity, a Congress leader said.
"The BJP should not get another chance to rule the state. That is why I feel Atmaram Patel is the best solution," added Chaudhary.
In another development, the proposed disciplinary action against Atmaram Patel has been dropped following his assertion that he had full faith in Vaghela.
RJP state unit president Madhusudan Mistry said on Saturday he was satisfied with the minister's reply to the show-cause notice.
Expressing similar views, Vaghela said there was no crisis in his ministry. ''If at all there was one, it had blown over,'' he added.
Meanwhile, 15 independent MLAs have formed a group hoping
to play a crucial role in the next government.
These MLAs have held parleys with the Congress and the BJP.
In the 182-member assembly, the Congress has 44 members, the BJP 76, the RJP 46 and independents 15.
EARLIER REPORTS:
Congress will decide on Vaghela's future on Saturday
Vaghela takes on Atmaram Patel
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