CONGRESS
Old Man's New Mantra

Unsure of emerging as the largest party, the Congress leadership plans to extricate the maximum mileage out a friendly Prime Minister and dump him at the appropriate moment.

By Prabhu Chawla

Political Extortionist. No way. The old man in a hurry would like to peddle himself as a political speculator. After a five-month break, Congress President Sitaram Kesri was last week back to his highly speculative business of shaping and shaking Central governments, this time the I.K. Gujral-led United Front (UF) Government. He turned the tables on Gujral and his detractors within his own party by making it clear that the time had come for a showdown at the Centre. His 30-minute discourse to the 16 Congress Working Committee (CWC) members was aimed at reviving the plummeting Congress stock and rupturing the bullishness of the UF. Reading out from a prepared text, Kesri declared, "The coalition experiment has failed once again and it is the Congress party which can provide stability to the country. Let us prepare ourselves for elections."

What followed was a hard-hitting CWC resolution charging the Gujral Government with aggravating the law and order situation, mismanagement of the economy and inept handling of major political issues. Though it stopped short of withdrawing support to the UF Government, it echoed Kesri's sentiments: "It is now recognised that the coalition experiment at the Centre has failed to deliver the goods."
These were not amusing barbs. For, the thoughts run deeper at the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters and in the mind of its 80-year-old president. When he toppled the Deve Gowda government in April, Kesri had assured his partymen that he would ensure they received due respect and recognition from the new Government to be headed by Gujral. But five months later, most senior Congress leaders admit that they are yet to get either. Instead, the Congress has lost its initial advantage and Kesri his political authority over the UF's decision-making process. Admits Congress Vice-President Jitendra Prasada: "If we expected to gain by supporting the UF, then it has been a great disappointment. It has only further weakened our party."

So, 25 senior and wise Congressmen -- the 16 CWC members and other special invitees -- who attended last week's high-level meeting came to the conclusion that the only way to strengthen the 112-year-old party was to distance it from the squabbling cabal at the Centre. Says the aicc's affable and titular treasurer Ahmed Patel: "We have decided to play the role of an effective Opposition at the Centre and in the non-Congress ruled states. We can't let small parties take away non-BJP votes which otherwise belong to us."

Here lies the catch. It has dawned on Kesri and his aides that by propping up the UF Government at the Centre, they have allowed regional leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shankersinh Vaghela, N. Chandrababu Naidu and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta to consolidate their own positions and eat into the Congress vote bank. Congress leaders have realised that the Left's growing influence over the Central Government has helped it expand its otherwise shrinking base. Most of the CWC members were peeved at the UF leadership's blatant anti-Congress attitude in public. In addition, with the Congress playing second fiddle to regional parties and satraps, the mantle of leading the Opposition has passed on to the bjp. Orissa Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik told the CWC in no uncertain terms: "The UF has become a liability for the Congress all over the country. We can't afford to carry it any longer ."

But is the Congress in a position to withdraw support to the UF Government? No. Although the party appears cohesive at a time when the various UF constituents are fighting each other, it is not confident of emerging as the single largest party in case mid-term polls are held. The party also doesn't want to face a situation where it is forced to support another coalition to check the bjp from capturing South Block.
Kesri has decided to plump for the second best option: extract the maximum from a friendly prime minister and dump him at the appropriate time. The Congress' short-term agenda is to find diplomatic and gubernatorial assignments for its ageing leaders, make the UF Government table the Jain Commission Report on Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, maintain pressure on non-Congress state governments and finally drive a wedge between the various UF factions. Kesri met with partial success when a panic-stricken prime minister called him three times soon after the CWC meeting and invited him over for tea. Gujral also advised UF leaders to refrain from attacking the Congress and accommodate Congressmen in important government-funded social organisations in the states and at the Centre. If Kesri is pushed into pursuing his agenda beyond extracting a few favours, things won't be the same for Gujral. Perhaps that challenge, when it comes, will test the mettle of both Kesri and Gujral.

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