The Nation: Congress; Confusion in the Ranks

A virtual power struggle breaks out in the party after Jayalalitha's latest threat to the Vajpayee government.

Sharad Pawar has in the past often challenged his party leadership. Only to back out at the last minute on every occasion. A trait that earned him the reputation of being the "Maratha Strawman". But the latest squabble between the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and his party chief, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, is fast assuming the proportions of a television soap. Appropriately enough, this bout in the perennial shadow-boxing has much to do with the small screen.

It started with an interview that Pawar gave to a Telugu television channel. Replying to a question, he said that in the event of a new coalition government at the Centre, the selection of the Congress prime minister would depend on the parties allied with it. In case the Congress had an absolute majority, Pawar hastened to add, Sonia would be the automatic choice.

Pawar's reply opened itself up to a million interpretations. Was he suggesting that someone from the "third force" -- say, Mulayam Singh Yadav -- should lead a prospective coalition? Was he warning Sonia that he would not let her nominee take precedence over him?

In true Congress tradition, the party reacted with caution. Margaret Alva, who runs the Congress president's office, produced before Sonia the transcript of the interview and a cassette of television clips. Officially, the Sonia camp only said it was trying to contact Pawar who was in the interiors of Maharashtra. For the moment, however, the coterie around 10 Janpath seemed clueless about the motive. Was it part of a well-considered political move or merely a slip on the part of Pawar, or perhaps a bit of mischief by the TV channel that is known to be close to the Government at the Centre?

There was, of course, no immediate provocation for Pawar to train his guns on Sonia at this juncture and once again show up the party as a divided house. Particularly since the Vajpayee Government was under serious threat following a sustained offensive from J. Jayalalitha's AIADMK. Days after the episode, Congress leaders were still groping in the dark. Party spokesman Ajit Jogi's only comment was: "I don't know what Sharad Pawar has said. I will only say that it is for the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to decide. Sonia is the CPP chairperson, Congress president and the leader of the party." Jogi's emphasis was on "the leader" and also that the CPP was only a wing of the CWC. Surprisingly, even Pawar loyalist Praful Patel appeared to differ with his mentor. "The question of the Congress' choice for prime ministership should be decided by the party alone and not by the allies. And since Sonia is the CPP leader, she should head the government."

Such sentiments are, of course, only to be expected from Congressmen who are rarely in the habit of challenging the leader. But it is now clear that not long after Jayalalitha launched her latest tirade against the Government, a virtual power struggle broke out in the Congress as the leaders saw the distant possibility of the party replacing the BJP-led Government. Sources say that Arjun Singh started to train his guns on Pawar in a bid to isolate him within the party. His rationale seems to be that in the event of the Vajpayee Government collapsing and Sonia herself deciding not to head an alternative government, no effort should be spared to prevent Pawar from taking over.

Singh, of course, has his reasons. Once the No. 2 man in the Union Cabinet, his stock has been on the wane for quite some time now. His last two attempts to enter the Lok Sabha ended in disasters. Congressmen who once fawned on Singh were shunning him and he was almost like an outcast in his own party. He still had one asset though -- his proximity to 10 Janpath. He may have been in and out of favour with the electorate in his constituency, but at the Gandhi household he was always an insider.

His stock went up further recently when Sonia appointed him the chief of the party committee on the Jain Commission report. More recently, she also asked him to head the party panel on the Srikrishna Commission report. Curiously, Pawar did not figure in the panel. Last week, when Pawar wanted to address a press conference at the AICC headquarters in a bid to clear the air regarding references to him in the report on the Mumbai riots, the Congress high command deputed Singh to accompany him.

On the other hand, Pawar has no recent experience of failure. Where Singh could not retain even his own seat, Pawar virtually presented the whole of Maharashtra to the Congress in the last Lok Sabha elections. It was he who led the Congress campaign in the state, capitalising on the Shiv Sena-BJP Government's failure to live up to its promises. Besides, when Sonia campaigned in the state, he had organised massive rallies and barely a fortnight after the election results were out, he backed Sonia as the Congress president, replacing Sitaram Kesri.

Besides, with Singh himself humbled, Pawar believed that his election as CPP leader was a mere formality. Though the Congress was far from a majority of its own, he had established enough cross-party contacts to support his bid. The parties of the United Front were willing to back him for the prime minister's post. Jayalalitha, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Om Prakash Chautala's Rashtriya Lok Dal-Haryana had assured him support and even N. Chandrababu Naidu was said to be willing to cooperate.

As one of his confidants said, "He may yet get another chance but he came very much close the last time." According to him, Pawar had told Sonia he would ensure that the Congress mustered the support of 281 MPs to take it past the halfway mark in the Lok Sabha. Evidently, Sonia didn't agree and on March 17, three days after taking over as Congress chief, she informed the President that her party didn't have the numbers to form the government. "She did not reciprocate the gesture. And Pawar has not forgiven her for that," says the aide.

Since then, with a lurking fear among party leaders that the Maratha strongman may take on the high command any time, a "tame Pawar" operation has been on in the Congress. Though privately many believe that he is on the right track, there are not many in the Congress to openly rally around Pawar. Nobody is, of course, questioning Sonia's primacy, but it is the increasing clout of Singh that makes many Congressmen see red.

Chief Ministers Digvijay Singh and J.B. Patnaik have already sounded the high command about the damage they believe Singh is causing. Sitaram Kesri is throwing his slender weight behind the anti-Arjun Singh forces while the supporters of P.V. Narasimha Rao are not lagging far behind. A handy example for all of them is Uttar Pradesh where Jitendra Prasada gave way as UPCC chief to Salman Khurshid, reportedly at the behest of Singh.

In the recent past, electoral setback had left Congressmen a frustrated lot. But since the change of guard in the party, their frustration has turned to fury which has seen them battling each other. Unfortunately, the Congress is not so well placed to afford such risks.

SHARAD PAWAR
"I say what I feel"

On the controversies that follow him.
There are a lot of people in my party and outside who love me (laughs). Whatever I feel, I say frankly. Unfortunately, even my recent statement on the leadership issue has been misunderstood. What can I do?

On the survival of the Vajpayee Government.
We are not in the toppling game. But if the Government falls on its own, the country cannot have another election.

On his chances of becoming prime minister.
Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the CPP. I am only leader in the Lok Sabha. Since Independence, the CPP leader has been the prime minister. It is for Sonia to take the initiative.

On Sonia marginalising him and promoting Arjun Singh.
Who says that? What panels? You think I should be in every party panel? It was not proper for me to be in the panel on the Srikrishna Commission report. I am in the panel on the Jain report. So what if somebody else is the convener? I don't know why you people are worried about Arjun Singh.

On his tiffs with successive Congress presidents.
Nothing of the sort. I am still there. In politics one should not expect big jumps. Everything takes time. There are a number of factors. There has to be acceptability. Secondly, it is factually incorrect that I missed the bus in March 1998. We made no attempt to form the government.

On coordination with like-minded parties.
That's a crucial part and we will have to look at it carefully. And we have to work in tandem with them. But our primary objective is to get a clear majority on our own so as to provide a stable and strong government. We can get up to 270 seats the next time if we work hard. Today, in five states that together account for 226 seats, we have got only six MPs. These are areas that are with the BJP and we have to work out a strategy here.

On Enforcement Directorate chief M.K. Bezbaruah's transfer.
Transfer and posting of officers is a government prerogative. It's for the Cabinet Committee on Appointments under the prime minister to decide. But if an ally of the Government makes a serious allegation, it needs to be investigated.