Small parties trying to make a major impact in polls
As the date for the trust vote in Parliament draws closer, the role of the smaller parties has become crucial in deciding the fate of the Manmohan Singh government, and the Indo-US nuclear deal.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: As the date for the trust vote in Parliament draws closer, the role of the smaller parties has become crucial in deciding the fate of the Manmohan Singh government, and the Indo-US nuclear deal.
In the normal circumstances, the ruling side should have encountered little problem in getting these parties on board. However, with Lok Sabha elections less than 10 months away, the whip issued by these to ensure compliance by their MPs looks set to be defied in a few cases.
Moreover, parties such as the TRS and the JD(S), which have three members each in the Lok Sabha, are a splintered lot. While former Union minister A Narendra, who stands expelled from the TRS, is yet to reveal his cards, another former Union minister M P Veerendrakumar, who has already parted ways with the JD(S), said on Sunday that, regardless of his party���s decision, he���ll vote against the deal.
Sensing a golden opportunity to have their way with the government on their charter of demands, parties such as the five-member JMM, TRS, JD(S) and RLD have been playing hard to get. And the National Conference, which has two members in the Lok Sabha, is expected to finalise its stand on the majority vote on Monday.
A decision on supporting or opposing the UPA government on the deal in the Lok Sabha will be taken at a meeting of party���s core group on Monday, NC president Omar Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar on Sunday.
TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao spelt out his pre-condition in Hyderabad on Sunday. The Union cabinet, he said, must first pass a resolution seeking the creation of Telangana before securing his party���s support for the trust vote The smaller parties, in fact, never had it so good.
The Congress may eventually end up enlisting their effort to cobble together a majority in the Lok Sabha, but it���ll have to pay a heavy price in the bargain.
As the UPA���s crisis managers spread their net to muster the required numbers, the smaller outfits, which had otherwise been forced out of political circulation, are now back in the reckoning.
Even the JMM, which had been sulking as its chief Shibu Soren had been denied re-entry into the Union cabinet, finds itself being courted. The party is now said to be in talks with both the UPA and the NDA, even though, technically speaking, it remains an ally of the Congress.
Its MP from Rajmahal, Mr Hemlal Murmu attended the UPA meeting held here on Sunday morning, but Mr Soren, it���s learnt, is said to have decided to cast his lot with that party or formation which is amenable to the demand to install him as the chief minister of Jharkhand. The Congress leadership will find it difficult to agree to the demand as Mr Madhu Koda, despite his poor track-record as the state���s chief minister, is said to be firmly in saddle, thanks to the blessings of railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The three-member RLD, too, is playing hard to get, even though Mr Ajit Singh has publicly backed the Indo-US nuclear deal. The past couple of days has seen the former Union minister acting in tandem with the JD(S), the TRS and the remnants of the UNPA in an attempt to enhance the group���s bargaining power.
Besides seeking a berth in the Union council of ministers, Mr Singh is looking towards a beneficial seat-sharing deal in the coming Lok Sabha elections from UP. The RLD, which had contested the 2004 general election in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, had been allotted 10 seats. It���s unlikely that it���ll settle for anything less.
As in the past, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, who heads the truncated JD(S), is proving to be a tough nut to crack, despite wide proclamations about the need to shield secularism. He���s yet to reveal his mind, but is said to be seeking a full-fledged pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Karnataka. He also wants the Congress-JD(S) combine to field a joint candidate in the by-elections to the five assembly seats in the state.
With the stakes running high for the Congress, its strategists will have to marshall all their resources to secure the backing of these parties for the upcoming trial of strength.
In the normal circumstances, the ruling side should have encountered little problem in getting these parties on board. However, with Lok Sabha elections less than 10 months away, the whip issued by these to ensure compliance by their MPs looks set to be defied in a few cases.
Moreover, parties such as the TRS and the JD(S), which have three members each in the Lok Sabha, are a splintered lot. While former Union minister A Narendra, who stands expelled from the TRS, is yet to reveal his cards, another former Union minister M P Veerendrakumar, who has already parted ways with the JD(S), said on Sunday that, regardless of his party���s decision, he���ll vote against the deal.
Sensing a golden opportunity to have their way with the government on their charter of demands, parties such as the five-member JMM, TRS, JD(S) and RLD have been playing hard to get. And the National Conference, which has two members in the Lok Sabha, is expected to finalise its stand on the majority vote on Monday.
A decision on supporting or opposing the UPA government on the deal in the Lok Sabha will be taken at a meeting of party���s core group on Monday, NC president Omar Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar on Sunday.
TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao spelt out his pre-condition in Hyderabad on Sunday. The Union cabinet, he said, must first pass a resolution seeking the creation of Telangana before securing his party���s support for the trust vote The smaller parties, in fact, never had it so good.
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The Congress may eventually end up enlisting their effort to cobble together a majority in the Lok Sabha, but it���ll have to pay a heavy price in the bargain.
As the UPA���s crisis managers spread their net to muster the required numbers, the smaller outfits, which had otherwise been forced out of political circulation, are now back in the reckoning.
Even the JMM, which had been sulking as its chief Shibu Soren had been denied re-entry into the Union cabinet, finds itself being courted. The party is now said to be in talks with both the UPA and the NDA, even though, technically speaking, it remains an ally of the Congress.
Its MP from Rajmahal, Mr Hemlal Murmu attended the UPA meeting held here on Sunday morning, but Mr Soren, it���s learnt, is said to have decided to cast his lot with that party or formation which is amenable to the demand to install him as the chief minister of Jharkhand. The Congress leadership will find it difficult to agree to the demand as Mr Madhu Koda, despite his poor track-record as the state���s chief minister, is said to be firmly in saddle, thanks to the blessings of railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
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The three-member RLD, too, is playing hard to get, even though Mr Ajit Singh has publicly backed the Indo-US nuclear deal. The past couple of days has seen the former Union minister acting in tandem with the JD(S), the TRS and the remnants of the UNPA in an attempt to enhance the group���s bargaining power.
Besides seeking a berth in the Union council of ministers, Mr Singh is looking towards a beneficial seat-sharing deal in the coming Lok Sabha elections from UP. The RLD, which had contested the 2004 general election in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, had been allotted 10 seats. It���s unlikely that it���ll settle for anything less.
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As in the past, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, who heads the truncated JD(S), is proving to be a tough nut to crack, despite wide proclamations about the need to shield secularism. He���s yet to reveal his mind, but is said to be seeking a full-fledged pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Karnataka. He also wants the Congress-JD(S) combine to field a joint candidate in the by-elections to the five assembly seats in the state.
With the stakes running high for the Congress, its strategists will have to marshall all their resources to secure the backing of these parties for the upcoming trial of strength.
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