The Vaghela group, which is ready with its numbers, has been waiting impatiently for the formal letter to Governor Krishna Pal Singh, extending the partys outside unconditional support. The MLAs of the breakaway group have been kept in two camps at Gandhinagar.
Almost the entire state leadership, including GPCC president Prabodh Rawal, Congress legislature party leader Amarsinh Chaudhury and the newly appointed AICC treasurer Ahmed Patel, have been pressing for an immediate decision on the party support to Vaghela. New Congress president Sitaram Kesari had already given the clearance.Kesari is learnt to have told the state leaders that support to Vaghela had been pledged by Narasimha Rao last October, and he would not like to dishonour it. But former Gujarat chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki, now AICC general secretary, is learnt to have now put certain posers on ideological ground.
He argues that Vaghelas Mahagujarat Janata Party is also communal, and the Congress should wrest an assurance from the MJP that it would follow truly secular policies. Other state Congress leaders counter this by saying that the breakaway party had already made public pronouncements in this regard.
In any case, since the party had no plans for a coalition it could withdraw the support whenever the government deviated from the Congress policies. On the other hand, if Vaghelas efforts to form his own government fails, that would only lead to the return of the BJP government and further strengthening of communalism which Solanki seeks to fight. Solankis reservations apart, the high command has already made up its mind in backing Vaghela. Another worry for the central leadership is that if it tried to delay the announcement of the formal decision, it might lead to friction among its own MLAs. It is pointed out that out of 45 Congress MLAs in the state 28 belong to the Janata Dal of the late Chimanbhai Patel.
Gujarat circles say that Madhavsinh Solankis main worry is the potential threat to his own Kham concept which had helped him stay in power for long. Vaghela is also a Kshatirya, and his plans to rely on backward mobilisation have already been announced by him. All this is feared to erode Solankis base.