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Mulayam's refusal puts Kesri in a spot

George Iype in New Delhi

Two days of hectic parleys to prop up a Congress-led coalition has led party president Sitaram Kesri to a realistic conclusion: he will not become the country's next prime minister.

Throughout Sunday, Kesri and other senior Congress leaders continued their vigil for a meltdown of the 13-party United Front's stand that its constituents will not support a Congress-led government.

Realising that mustering the support of 129 MPs -- to achieve the magic majority figure of 273 in the Lok Sabha -- is impossible, Kesri and his colleagues are now groping for alternative means to capture power.

The Congress chief's 7, Purana Quila home in the capital was the centre of action on Sunday. Congress MPs came in droves to confer on the political strategy now that the Front has spurned the Congress bait.

"It is up to the UF partners to decide whether to support a secular coalition or to go for a mid-term poll," Rajya Sabha MP and Kerala Congress president Vayalar Ravi told Rediff On The NeT.

Ravi said the Congress had given unconditional support to the UF government "for the sake of the nation." ''We feel the UF has a duty to reciprocate and help the Congress form a government," he said, adding that this would help prevent "communal forces led by the Bharatiya Janata Party" from coming to power.

The desperation of Congress leaders like Ravi is understandable as their efforts to form a new coalition has failed to take off.

What has dashed Congress hopes is the stubborn stand taken by Samajwadi Party chief and Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Though a number of Kesri's emissaries have met Yadav to persuade him to form a government minus the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Uttar Pradesh leader has been vacillating and telling Congress leaders that he is not interested in becoming a "short-term prime minister."

Congress sources disclosed that Yadav is "the kingpin in the UF in the current political crisis."

"The Front will collapse only if Yadav walks out and supports the Congress," a Congress leader told Rediff On The NeT.

But in the wake of Yadav's continuing refusal to join the Congress bandwagon, Kesri and other senior leaders have discussed other coalition options.

One such plan is to form a non-BJP government headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma who has emerged as a clear favourite among many Congress MPs.

A senior Congress leader said a Sangma-led government was among the various options being discussed by party MPs. "We feel Sangma, by virtue of being a honest and pro-active Speaker, will be an acceptable candidate to the UF partners," he told Rediff On The NeT.

The second option is to support a government led by Tamil Maanila Congress leader G K Moopanar.

Moopanar, who is close to Sonia Gandhi, held a series of consultations with his TMC colleagues as well as Congress leaders. However, there is a division of opinion among Congress Working Committee members about Moopanar's candidature.

Some CWC members from North India feel propping up Moopanar at this juncture will not help improve the Congress image. They argue that the party's image, which has taken a severe drubbing in the current political drama, will be further affected if it supports a Moopanar-led government.

Kesri, who is now weighing various options, will present the Congress view when he meets President K R Narayanan on Monday.

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