AYE OF THE STORM

At the centre of the political tumult in Parliament on Tuesday was a group that worked with war-room discipline to garner the yes votes that would help the UPA Government survive. DK Singh lists the victory chasers—from an “apolitical” head of the Government to a wily minister who had just undergone angioplasty

Manmohan Singh
An “apolitical” Prime Minister, Singh was not involved in the nitty-gritty of the operation to muster up the numbers for the UPA, but he had a specific role to play. Whenever required, party managers would request the PM to make phone calls and give audience to some Opposition MPs who came to offer their support. The PM, for instance, had a telephonic talk with JMM chief Shibu Soren who wanted two berths in the Union Council of Ministers; a day later the JMM leader was at 10 Janpath to announce his support to the UPA. The PM spoke to National Conference President Omar Abdullah who was in two minds whether to abstain or vote for the Government. Singh also met JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda but it was a non-starter given Gowda’s demand that the BJP Government in Karnataka be dismissed. The PM is learnt to have used his “network of friends” in Punjab to reach out to the Akali Dal leadership for support; later, while moving the motion seeking a vote of confidence, Singh also sought to make an emotional appeal to the Akalis by invoking Guru Gobind Singh. But perhaps most important of all, it was Manmohan Singh who had thought of inviting Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh to the dinner on the fourth anniversary of the UPA Government, an act which paid the richest dividend in the whole drama.

Sonia Gandhi
In the 123rd year of the Congress, the 123 Agreement, when signed, was set to be a milestone in the party’s journey through the history and Sonia was determined to make it happen. The UPA chairperson was obviously the commander-in-chief supervising the entire operation to save the Government.
She set up a seven-member committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to guide the ruling combine through the trust vote. Other members of the committee included her Political Secretary Ahmed Patel, Defence Minister AK Antony, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi and his two deputies V Narayansami and PK Bansal, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan. The Congress President set up another committee of AICC general secretaries to ensure the presence of all party MPs on July 22. They were to be helped by Congress chief ministers. The general secretaries, CMs of the party-ruled states and PCC chiefs were assigned the task of talking to the “vulnerable” MPs in Opposition camps—those whose constituencies had got reserved or de-reserved as a result of the delimitation exercise, those who were being denied tickets by their respective parties, and those who had a Congress background. It apparently worked as most of the Opposition MPs, who cross-voted or abstained, had Congress background or had developed some links with the Congress. For instance, JD(S) MP M Shivanna was once the Youth Congress president of Chamrajanagar district in Karnataka; BJP MP from Dharwad South Manjunath Kunnur was in the Youth Congress for several years and was also a two-term Congress MLA; suspended BJP MP and known Narendra Modi detractor Somabhai Patel’s son had contested the last Assembly election in Gujarat on a Congress ticket and the father had even campaigned for him; BJP MP from Bangalore North HT Sangliana, who is the subject of several tales of integrity, including one in which he booked a case against his wife for using his official car to buy vegetables, was never comfortable in the BJP and had sought a Congress ticket in the last general elections; and BJP MP from Udupi Manorama Madhwaraj who was in the Congress for three decades before she joined the BJP in 2004.
Sonia supervised the entire process, taking a final decision on these committees’ recommendations and meeting party leaders and MPs whenever required. For instance, when Gowda wanted to meet her after his meeting with the PM, she refused to take the bait as she saw through his intention to use this meeting merely to score some brownie points, according to Congress sources. Her phonecall to Dayanidhi Maran was also instrumental in garnering his support; Maran had said the DMK had made no attempt to reach out to him. She also called Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda to 10 Janpath and deployed him to put pressure on Soren.

... contd.

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