Guessing game on as MPs keep switching sides
The trust vote has acquired all the uncertainty of the final overs of a tense Twenty20 match with a hint of match-fixing to boot. Who can swing the trust vote?
| In Pics:Who can swing the trust vote? |
NEW DELHI: The political potboiler bubbling over in the capital has acquired all the uncertainty of the final overs of a tense Twenty20 match with a hint of match-fixing to boot. The UPA is scrambling for runs, the NDA-Left-Mayawati combine is looking for a few sharp run-outs while the bookies are furiously working the phones.
With just four days to go for the crucial vote in the Lok Sabha that will decide the Manmohan Singh government's fate, the pressure cooker atmosphere is almost unbearable. It's war out there as parties seek to secure their flock while raiding rival pens to make off with the prize catches that they hope will make all the difference in next week's showdown.
It's difficult keeping track of the MPs, some of whom are giving the term 'multi-tasking' new meaning. Take the case of Congress's Karnal MP Arvind Sharma who late on Thursday night assured his party that he would very much vote for the government. But on Friday morning he was on the verge of joining the BSP, launching a broadside against the Congress for 'targetting' UP Chief Minister Mayawati.
No party can afford to let its guard down. The NDA learnt this the hard way when the UPA and the NCP, to be precise���sneaked up on JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep P Koya and sought to ensnare him. The JD(U) was working hard to retrieve him when the BJP urgently despatched its senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu to Karnataka where its MP from Dharwad (south) Manjunath Channappa had fallen prey to the guile of the Congress. Naidu is hoping to stop him besides seeking to build on the contacts his colleagues have claimed to have established with two Congress MPs.
BJP sources claimed that a couple of its MPs from the north-east had been approached with 'offers' if they batted for the government. Some MPs have even recieved text messages, perhaps inking a new chapter in telemarketing.
Swinging for the deal
Congress looks to bag Mohammed Koya, JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep, BJP MP Manjunath from K'taka. Congress MP from Karnal Arvind Sharma set to join BSP, MP from Sirsa, Atmaram Gill, may follow suit DMK rebel Dayanidhi Maran falls in line, but four SP MPs refuse to back UPA JMM chief Shibu Soren still keeps BJP, Congress guessing, but is tilting towards NDA.
RLD leader Ajit Singh undecided BJP's 'kabootarbaaz' MP Babulal Katara promises to support party, but former action star Dharmendra missing in action BJP alleges two of its northeast MPs tapped over mobiles to defect. Some offers made through SMS
Three MPs could be barred from polls:
Although they are said to be receiving overtures from both sides, three of the six jailed MPs legally have little incentive to look beyond the term of the 14th Lok Sabha.
Courtesy:timesofindia
With just four days to go for the crucial vote in the Lok Sabha that will decide the Manmohan Singh government's fate, the pressure cooker atmosphere is almost unbearable. It's war out there as parties seek to secure their flock while raiding rival pens to make off with the prize catches that they hope will make all the difference in next week's showdown.
It's difficult keeping track of the MPs, some of whom are giving the term 'multi-tasking' new meaning. Take the case of Congress's Karnal MP Arvind Sharma who late on Thursday night assured his party that he would very much vote for the government. But on Friday morning he was on the verge of joining the BSP, launching a broadside against the Congress for 'targetting' UP Chief Minister Mayawati.
No party can afford to let its guard down. The NDA learnt this the hard way when the UPA and the NCP, to be precise���sneaked up on JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep P Koya and sought to ensnare him. The JD(U) was working hard to retrieve him when the BJP urgently despatched its senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu to Karnataka where its MP from Dharwad (south) Manjunath Channappa had fallen prey to the guile of the Congress. Naidu is hoping to stop him besides seeking to build on the contacts his colleagues have claimed to have established with two Congress MPs.
BJP sources claimed that a couple of its MPs from the north-east had been approached with 'offers' if they batted for the government. Some MPs have even recieved text messages, perhaps inking a new chapter in telemarketing.
Swinging for the deal
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Congress looks to bag Mohammed Koya, JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep, BJP MP Manjunath from K'taka. Congress MP from Karnal Arvind Sharma set to join BSP, MP from Sirsa, Atmaram Gill, may follow suit DMK rebel Dayanidhi Maran falls in line, but four SP MPs refuse to back UPA JMM chief Shibu Soren still keeps BJP, Congress guessing, but is tilting towards NDA.
RLD leader Ajit Singh undecided BJP's 'kabootarbaaz' MP Babulal Katara promises to support party, but former action star Dharmendra missing in action BJP alleges two of its northeast MPs tapped over mobiles to defect. Some offers made through SMS
Three MPs could be barred from polls:
Although they are said to be receiving overtures from both sides, three of the six jailed MPs legally have little incentive to look beyond the term of the 14th Lok Sabha.
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Courtesy:timesofindia
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