A day after he publicly raised the ante over the deal pushing a reluctant Congress to back him, the UPA allies came out in the open to oppose any course which would precipitate the confrontation with the Left, leading to polls at a time when runaway inflation has soured the public mood towards the ruling coalition and when BJP's challenge is looking more potent than before.
Congress bosses were seeking to tie up support from Samajwadi Party to make up the loss of Left's support to deal with any contingency. SP, which started off as a staunch opponent of the deal, turning the stance over the agreement with the anti-Muslim US into the litmus test of one's "secular credentials", has since mellowed its resistance.
Harried by a tough opponent in Mayawati and anxious to gain time, the party has not scotched the "deal to save the deal" speculation.
Three important satraps — RJD boss and railway minister Lalu Prasad, NCP chief and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and DMK supremo, TN chief minister M Karunanidhi, expressed their misgivings over adventurism on the deal. Lok Janshakti leader Ramvilas Paswan is also learnt to have made his reservations plain.
Pawar said, "It is our duty to take our friends and those who supported us for four-and-a-half years into consideration before taking a final view." Lalu tempered his bold defence of the deal with the diplomatic "we need both the Left and the deal" caveat.
Speaking for Karunanidhi, a DMK spokesperson invoked the threat of "communal forces". "We support the deal but Karunanidhi has stated that any such divisions between UPA and Left will only help BJP."
Congress strategists on Thursday reacted with surprise as it started to unfold that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wanted to push the deal, raising fears of early Lok Sabha polls.
While strong concerns in pro-deal quarters range from salvaging the national credibility in international forum to not foregoing a deal so good, Congress leaders feel the time was up for such considerations, which was well brought out when the PM last year uttered "ours is not a one-issue government".
Though there is no love lost with the Left, seen as indispensable for secular bloc in the coalition era, Congress leaders say the party is ill-prepared to hit the poll turf. Barely up from a debilitating defeat in Karnataka, coming in the backdrop of a string of reverses, leaders point out that the debacle was a result of going to elections unprepared and are unwilling to risk it for the national contest with much higher stakes.
To know More About Share Market Technical Analysis Click Here For Share Gurukul
No comments:
Post a Comment