The United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), led by Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP), today met for more than four hours. Less time was spent on a debate on the nuclear deal. What engaged members of the UNPA, also called the third front, was how to dissolve themselves because its most populous member, the SP, is eager to join hands with the Congress.
As the meeting started at his residence, SP General Secretary Amar Singh briefed leaders of the front's constituent parties about his talks with National Security Advisor MK Narayanan and the Congress leadership on the nuclear deal.
Singh didn't stop here. He went on to describe the political situation in Uttar Pradesh, the SP's home turf, and elaborated on how Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) regime was giving them a rough time. He said there were distinct signals that the BJP would tie up with the BSP in the near future, making things more difficult for the SP.
According to UNPA sources, Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav told the audience bluntly that there was no other choice for them but to join hands with the Congress at this moment. After hearing the SP's stand, Brindaban Goswami of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) suggested that the front should be dissolved now as the other constituents could not, under any circumstances, follow Yadav and support the Congress.
Leaders like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu and Om Prakash Chautala (Indian National Lok Dal) stepped in and advised that dissolving the front would not serve any purpose.
Their logic: The UNPA constituents, even the SP, were under no compulsion immediately to join hands with the Congress. "The Left has not pulled out, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not announced a go-ahead on the nuclear deal and, most importantly, the UPA government is not facing floor test in Parliament tomorrow", Naidu said. So the front and its partners could take it easy for a while, he said.
Suggestions poured in to keep the front alive. Naidu said the front would not face a sudden death but its parties could be given liberty to make individual political adjustments for the time being in their own states according to their own compulsions.
In this way, the SP could support the Congress at the Centre to secure a better position for itself in UP while the third form platform could keep functioning at the central level.
As the meeting ended, the SP didn't waste time in preparing further ground for its shift towards the Congress. Amar Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav met former president APJ Abdul Kalam to take his suggestions on the nuclear deal.
After the meeting, Amar Singh said, "Kalam has supported the deal. He has told us that political interest should not be above national interest. He also said that the deal is good for India." In short, Singh said exactly what would sound sweet to his party's supporters and make the road towards the Congress smoother.
In the next meeting of the UNPA, the leaders will announce their separation plan and let their third front die another day.
