The BJP could concede the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker's post to the Congress if it fails to evolve a consensus among its allies. Some of its senior leaders argue that it is better to give in gracefully than to be defeated. The BJP is to meet its allies today to try and hammer out a consensus.
They are under pressure as Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi has told them he immediately needs a deputy to assist him in discharging his functions. The panel of Lok Sabha's chairpersons can preside over sittings in the House but they cannot look after the Speaker's office, he has pointed out.
The BJP will finalise its strategy after today's meeting. Although Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and other party leaders in the government have indicated their preference for a consensus, a contest is not ruled out if the BJP is sure that its allies will support a BJP candidate.
Some BJP leaders hold that the election should be postponed if the party cannot get its candidate elected. Vajpayee and others, however, do not favour this strategy. The party has floated the names of former Deputy Speaker S Mallikarjunaiah from Karnataka and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, hoping for a consensus over one of them.
Mallikarjunaiah, who was the Deputy Speaker of the tenth Lok Sabha, appears to have an edge. He hails from the South, which could become crucial in an almost evenly balanced house. The Telugu Desam, which supports the government, and the AIADMK could be more easily pressed to support a candidate from the South, a BJP leader said.
Some BJP leaders hope that, if there is a good chance of the BJP candidate winning, the Congress may not field its candidate and allow a consensus. However, a division in the ruling coalition would force the BJP not to field its candidate against a Congress nominee. BJP spokesperson KL Sharma said the BJP was open on the issue. He clarified that consensus does not have to be only for a BJP candidate. The BJP, however, has a greater claim, he added, as it had given up its claim as the largest group in the House to the Speaker's post.
