Rajya Sabha vote on FDI the real test for Congress

NEW DELHI: As the Congress-led UPA government braces for a vote next week in Parliament on FDI in multi-brand retail, floor managers of the Congress want to leave nothing to chance: they are eyeing several parties and independent MPs for support.
Sources said the UPA has lined up “at least three different formulas” to manage the vote in Parliament. They didn’t elaborate. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are slated to vote on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

“Ever since the UPA came to power in 2004, the Opposition has forced us to number tests on three occasions: the 2008 trust vote on the India-US civil nuclear deal and the 2007 and 2012 Presidential polls.... We are confident of repeating the same winning streak on the FDI voting too,” said a Congress minister on condition of anonymity.

The real test for the UPA is in crossing the 122-mark in the Rajya Sabha. Since the UPA has only 87 MPs in the Upper House, it needs “outside-supporters” such as BSP (15), SP(9) and RJD (2) to help manage 113 votes and then the backing of 10 nominated members as well as 7 “independents & others” to win convincingly, with 130 votes. The SP, so far, hasn’t publicly committed its support.

Since all 10 nominated MPs owe their seats to the UPA, Congress leaders are banking on them (barring perhaps Sachin Tendulkar who has a Test match to play). The Congress is hoping that the seven “independents & others”, including Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Amar Singh, Vijay Mallya, Parimal Nathwani and Mohd Adeeb, could back the FDI decision.

The Congress is also looking at support from “suspended” BJP MP Ram Jethmalani and BJD rebel Pyari Mohan Mahapatra besides “potential openings” in the Shiv Sena (4), Akali Dal (3), “Yeddyurappa loyalists” (among the six BJP MPs from Karnataka) and the “unpredictable Trinamool Congress” brigade.

In the Lok Sabha, the UPA needs 273 votes to cross the half-way mark. The 206 MP-strong Congress and its UPA allies (DMK, NCP, RLD, NC, IUML, KC(M) and VCK) have a combined strength of only 244, short by 29. Two crucial outside props — SP (22) and BSP (21) — have promised to back the UPA, making it 287. But, given the unpredictable nature of these two rival parties, on which the Opposition hope is resting on, the UPA is looking at “another batch of numbers as a fall-back arrangement”.

The floor managers are also trying to woo the two-member YSR Congress and the three-member JD(S). The Congress will be happy with engineering “tactical absence” during voting. They are also “watching” the 18 BJP MPs from Karnataka to know how they will “behave”. Though the Shiv Sena (11) and Akali Dal (4) are part of the NDA, it is no secret that there are many pro-FDI members in those parties, said another Congress leader asking not to be named.