Congress President Sitaram Kesri's managers yesterday prepared to corner Sharad Pawar, the party's Lok Sabha floor leader, at today's meeting of the Congress Working Committee over the party's failure to defend itself and its president during the debate on Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's vote of confidence.
A virtual revolt against Kesri's handling of the current crisis, particularly his decision to withdraw support to the United Front and put in his claim, surfaced on Saturday at a tea party hosted by Pawar.
Even leaders close to Pawar acknowledged, though, that he did not have the committed support of even a third of Lok Sabha members, the minimum required to split the party, or to put up a credible challenge. They hoped the anti-Kesri sentiment would be vocally manifest at the meeting of the Congress Party in Parliament next Sunday.
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Particularly if Pawar was put on the mat in the CWC, one Pawar supporter said, there would be a strong reaction in the CPP.
Kesri's managers were confident the current crisis would be resolved before then. One Kesri aide said he expected the UF to decide on an alternate leader in a day or two, so that a new government could be installed, with the Congress' support restored to the Front.
He said the CWC was likely to take a formal decision to withdraw Kesri's letter to the President, seeking to form a Congress-led government. With the threat of imminent elections gone, he figured there would be no sting in the MPs' attack at the CPP meeting and Saturday's angry speeches could be forgotten.
They concentrated on carrying the day at the CWC meeting, where Kesri has the support of the majority. Pawar is likely to have the support of only Rajesh Pilot, some Pawar supporters acknowledged yesterday.
Pilot issued a statement yesterday, hinting at the need for major changes: Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary solutions and the history of sCongress is replete when it has subordinated all individual and sectarian interests to larger national and political interests.
Obliquely pointing to Kesri, he added: All partymen, irrespective of their status, should be prepared to face the grim realities and take bold decisions to uphold the interests of the party.
Hinting at a new arrangement with the United Front, Pilot said the Congress would continue its efforts towards consolidation of secular, democratic and progressive forces.
Urging party workers to maintain unity, he asked them to have faith in inner party democracy.