The Countdown

November 8: Turmoil in the Congress after publication of excerpts in india today.

November 10: Home Minister Indrajit Gupta asks Justice Jain to substantiate findings.

November 12: Kesri says Congress will review support if report is not tabled in Parliament; UF rallies behind DMK.

November 13: Gujral hosts dinner for Kesri. UF leaders lambast the Jain report.

November 14: Congress hardliners force Kesri to get tough.

November 15: Congress leaders meet Sonia, reiterate there will be no compromise on the demand for DMK's ouster.

November 17: Kesri holds V.P. Singh and Karunanidhi responsible for Rajiv's killing; UF vows to stay united.

November 19: Congress serves ultimatum on the UF Government to drop DMK.

November 20: Congress leader Oscar Fernandes formally hands over notice from Kesri to Gujral but sets no deadline. The UF decides to fight it out.

Leaders in Disarray

Sitaram Kesri: The "old-man-in-a-hurry" preferred to go slow, wanting "good friend" Gujral to continue at least till his own legal problems were sorted out. That would have allowed him to target rebels in the party and take a shot at heading a Congress-led coalition.

Jitendra Prasada: The Congress vice-president and Gandhi family loyalist was largely responsible for Deve Gowda's fall. He was determined to topple Gujral too. Has his eyes on the party presidentship.

Sharad Pawar: When the going got tough, the Maratha strawman lived up to his reputation. Predictably, there was talk of his deserting the ship, but he would have settled for deputy prime ministership.

Arjun Singh: The Sonia loyalist and self-proclaimed champion of minorities wanted to retain the unity of secular forces -- minus dmk. Believes fresh elections will give him a chance to bounce back.

R.K. Dhawan: A veteran of the party's dirty-tricks department, he tried his best to keep the coalition alive, hoping to control the levers of power -- as he did during the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv regimes.

Wish List of Parties

BJP and Allies: While the BJP leadership is keen on a fresh mandate, party MPs prefer a repeat of a Uttar Pradesh-type operation to come to power with Vajpayee as prime minister.

Congress: While the Lok Sabha members are ready to face the electorate in the hope that Sonia will lend a hand, many senior leaders are in favour of joining the Gujral Government.

United Front: Despite their disparate agenda, each of the 14 constituents of the UF is keen to stay in power. Only they cannot agree on the extent to which to compromise to retain power.