Pachmarhi Scuttles Opp'S Plan To Topple Govt

Pachmarhi has been good news for the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. It has not been so good for parties that have gushingly offered support to the Congress to bring down the government. Not only has the Congress been taciturn in accepting support from parties like Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), post-Pachmarhi it has set its eyes on appropriating the very support base of these parties.

Sonia Gandhi's call to `go it alone' not only increases the degree of mutual suspicion among the opposition, it adds to the confusion within the Congress. A section within the party has been advocating alliances with the SP and RJD.

"The post-Pachmarhi situation makes it more difficult for the opposition to come together and bring down the government. The efforts to regain the Congress' old support base may take some time, but it will bring the party in direct confrontation with smaller, regional parties. In the process, the Vajpayee government looks more stable," a senior Janata Dal leader said.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav had been pressing the Congress to take the lead in bringing down the government.

It has now dawned on them that instead of appearing unabashedly pro-Congress, it would be in their interest to protect their own turf from the predatory moves promised by the Congress. Gandhi has made it clear that the only non-Congress grouping she is interested in is the Left. The economic resolution passed at Pachmarhi reflects the interests of the Left and is indicative of the recent interactions between her and CPM general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet.

But the Congress with 141 and the Left with 48 members do not make the majority in the 544-member House. SP sources admit in the near future it will be difficult to rustle up the momentum required to bring down the government.

"The Vajpayee government is safe at least until November-December by when the results of assembly elections in four states would be available. The winter session of Parliament will also be held around the time. Perhaps if the BJP loses in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh the required opposition effort would be made to form an alternative government at the Centre," an SP general secretary said. He, however, admitted that defeating the BJP in each of the three states would not be easy. He said there was a possibility of the Congress tying up with the SP in Madhya Pradesh but post-Pachmarhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav was unlikely to rush into any such alliances.