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Congress remains uneasy over the prospect of having to face early polls because of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's determined push for the nuclear deal in defiance of the Left.
The unease in the party as well as UPA allies reflected on Friday in the comment of UPA troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee who, while expressing the Centre's interest in the deal, said, "We know about the time constraint but we have to keep in mind the concerns expressed by different sections."
The reply at a press conference was in conformity with the aversion in the party and among UPA partners over the possibility of facing the electorate earlier than May 2009 when Lok Sabha polls are scheduled.
They also underscored the gap between the thinking of Prime Minister’s Office, on the one hand, and that of the Congress establishment and allies on the other.
The PM has doggedly stressed the need for the government to approach the IAEA immediately for the ratification of safeguards agreement, arguing that the clock was ticking away for the landmark deal with the US.
Sources said even as the leadership is charting out a separation plan and preparing for life beyond Left with the support of SP, it has not given up efforts to end the standoff with Left. The certainty of the Left walking out of the alliance with UPA in the event of the Centre defying its veto on approaching IAEA has put the leadership in a bind. While an optimistic Congress has put in motion a process to mop up numbers in Lok Sabha, starting with opening a line with Samajwadi Party, there is now a realisation that it may be an extremely risky proposition in the face of its rivals readying its numbers to vote against it.
Left's announcement to vote even with the BJP was followed on Friday by the announcement of BJP's PM candidate L K Advani that his party would seek a special session to force the Manmohan Singh government to take a floor test if Left fell out with the UPA. BSP leader Mayawati, having just withdrawn support to UPA after a volley of accusations ranging from political to personal, is unlikely to be seen with Congress anymore. The fast-adding numbers on the rival side would turn the confidence test a walk on the razor's edge for the UPA, rendering it vulnerable to arm-twisting by new allies even if it survives by a whisker. Senior Congress leaders, however, admit that passing the test without Left's support would be extremely difficult.
Congress's reluctance for early polls is in total sync with wariness of UPA allies who have told Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that bringing forward the polls could prove to be a misadventure.
Allies are apprehensive that double-digit inflation and the string of defeats which has led to negativity around Congress would be a major handicap in any immediate test of the popular pulse. The message was conveyed when the allies called on Sonia, after the PM raised the nuclear ante again to trigger hectic political activities.
What is of key concern to the allies is the doubt that the nuclear issue does not have much of a resonance with the masses. A senior UPA partner wondered if the nuke pact would have an impact on them to give an advantage for "their sacrifice for national interests''. The AICC and the allies are on the same page on this.
The UPA constituents are keen to hammer home the point that Left could not be offended to the point of making the differences irreconciliable for future politics. While saying that the same held true for the comrades, a leader said the "middle way'' could be to delay the divorce as long as possible. The PM, for his part, remains unrelenting in his advocacy for the early conclusion of the deal. Sources quoted him telling an important visitor earlier this week that he could not compromise since the issue involved "national interest".

Labels: Indian Politics