Kesri gears up for mid-term poll
George Iype in New Delhi
Close on the heels of the Congress's virtual chargesheet against the Inder Kumar Gujral government emerge signals of party president Sitaram Kesri's designs for power.
Kesri's fingers seem to be itching again. But this time -- unlike in April when the H D Deve Gowda government came crashing like a pack of cards -- the octogenarian promises to be less impatient. Well, at least, going by his gameplan for the Congress's revival.
Convinced that a mid-term poll will be held early next year, Kesri has quietly launched a massive exercise to assess the party's prospects.
Among those in charge of the party's pre-poll surveys are close Kesri aides Madhavarao Scindia, A K Antony, Dr Manmohan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, P M Sayed, Surinder Singh Singla and Santosh Mohan Deb.
Sources said the leaders have been asked to zero in on issues that will help the party build up a strong case against the United Front government. They have also been told to evaluate the performance of various state governments as well as the Congress's state units.
The leaders's findings are expected to influence the party’s decision on when the rug should be pulled from under the Gujral government.
''Kesriji is not disillusioned with Gujral as he used to be with Deve Gowda. But a general election can take place any time as a coalition government like this one is always weak,'' former Union minister of state for home and Congress MP P M Sayed told Rediff On The NeT.
While Sayed and Singla visited the North-Eastern states last week to assess the party's chances there, Santosh Mohan Deb will soon give some crucial inputs on West Bengal.
Similarly, Antony and Dr Singh will submit a report on the party's standing in the four southern states while Scindia, Patel and Azad will concentrate on the northern states.
Sources said the dominant feeling in the Congress is that the UF government should not be allowed to continue for long as this will undermine the party's support base and demoralise its rank and file.
In his bid to capture power, Kesri is also trying to go in for tie-ups with regional parties like Laloo Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal and Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party.
It is for this reason that Kesri is reluctant to seal the Shankarsinh Vaghela government's fate in Gujarat. Kesri believes that Vaghela's Rashtriya Janata Party will play an important role in the Congress's gameplan, sources said.
As for the timing of the coup against Gujral, Kesri has confided to his close aides that the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham government in Tamil Nadu will come under attack in the winter session of Parliament over the Jain Commission's report on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
The Congress chief might use this opportunity to split the UF and perhaps embark on his mission to pull down the government.
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