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Arati R Jerath
NEW DELHI, April 13: Jayalalitha and the Opposition parties were locked in a war of nerves today as a decision about the shape and form of an alternative government continued to elude the anti-BJP camp.
Instead of the confusion clearing with Jayalalitha's arrival in the Capital, the DMK tonight muddied the waters further with a resolution vowing not to support any government in which the AIADMK is involved ``directly or indirectly''. Political circles saw the latter bit as a warning against the inclusion of Subramanian Swamy in an alternative government. This is believed to be one of Jaya's main conditions for taking the plunge and withdrawing support from the Vajpayee Government which might happen on Wednesday when she is scheduled to meet the President. An AIADMK release from Chennai stated that Jayalalitha will meet the president at 11.00 am tomorrow.
The regional war in Tamil Nadu thus threatens to derail the battle for the Centre and DMK chief M Karunanidhi made his priorities clear by declaring thatJaya posed ``a greater threat to the nation than communalism in the present circumstances''. It was a hint that he may be forced to support the Vajpayee Government unless the AIADMK was kept out of an alternative formation.
Asked if his party would bail the BJP out, he said: ``We will take an appropriate decision in consultation with DMK Parliamentary Party leader Murasoli Maran.'' And in a pointed signal to the Left, he said that it could not have forgotten its objection to Sharad Yadav and the RJD's presence in the UF when they were chargesheeted in court cases for ``lesser offences.''
With Karunanidhi taking such a strong position, the numbers game has turned into a closely fought contest, the outcome of which may not be known till the floor test actually takes place.
Till the AIADMK's announcement on the party chief's scheduled meeting with the President, Jaya gave no indication when she would take the final step.
She was obviously holding on to her last card in an attempt to drive the bestbargain possible. She spent the day holed up in her hotel suite, meeting a host of minor opposition leaders.From the sketchy reports available of her discussions with them, Jaya apparently complained about the cool attitude of the opposition parties, the withdraw-first-then-talk terms set by them.
No major leader made any attempt to meet her. The RLM leaders were away in UP attending the wedding of Mulayam Singh Yadav's niece and the Congress kept its distance. Congress sources said Sonia Gandhi would only meet her after she withdraws support. Sonia herself was noncommittal. ``As and when the situation develops and I am required to meet her, I am prepared to do so,'' she said as she was leaving a kirtan held at Arjun Singh's house to honour the tercentennary of the Khalsa Panth.
The party's studied nonchalance could not hide the tension gripping the leadership over Jaya's inaction. Realising that its continued refusal to entertain negotiations on an alternative government may save Vajpayee, the Congressunbent slightly today to indicate that the options of leading a coalition were open. ``We have to see the political reality and accordingly consider or reconsider a coalition if necessary,'' Arjun Singh said. It was ambiguous but later, Sonia Gandhi reinforced the impression that the Congress wanted to dangle the carrot of a coalition when she too did not rule it out. ``It is too premature to talk about coalitions,'' was all she said when asked about the possibility of a Congress-led alliance.
Significantly, the nuanced shift in the party's stand came less than 24 hours after Salman Khursheed gave an inkling of the mood in the Congress by categorically ruling out a coalition. Today, Arjun Singh was hastily pushed in as the party's only authorised spokesman on the current political situation to prevent any more slips.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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