On prez polls, the fuzziness remains
Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, along with Samajwadi boss Mulayam Singh Yadav, appeared to bring a sense of shock to the Congress camp Wednesday evening, disturbing its sense of complacency over the presidential election.
But within the space of 12 hours, the key question emerging was whether the Mamata-Mulayam bonhomie is the real thing or is it a spurious political commodity. The answer will be revealed in due course, and to an extent the fate of the race for President will be determined by whether the duo stick together and agree to align with the BJP-led NDA and the regional parties that are in touch with it.
It was, however, heartening to see the Congress stand firm on Thursday — a stance noticeably different from Wednesday evening, when the party seemed struck by uncertainty and shut the door on the media — and declare that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not to be shoved about on account of some shabbiness shown by a UPA partner and a UPA ally, who named him as a possible presidential candidate, in effect asking him to vacate his current position. This announcement scotched rumours about a grab for the throne by all and sundry and fresh elections.
The Congress also rejected the names floated by Ms Banerjee and Mr Yadav, asserting it had the whip hand within the UPA. This show of spirit has produced some indications that the Samajwadi leader could once again return to doing business with the Congress rather than with the Trinamul Congress. But the scene is as yet murky. What is less obscure is the fact of mounting tension between the Congress and Ms Banerjee’s party which may just give way to a formal parting of ways. (In the NDA camp too, the Janata Dal-United in Bihar maintains a separate stance from the BJP on the choice of a presidential candidate, and did so on Wednesday as well.) In this space earlier this week we had spoken of the possibility of both the UPA and NDA surrendering their cohesion in the run-up to the presidential election, but are surprised by the speed with which this has materialised.
The Congress has promised to soon name its candidate rather than be buffeted by rumours and speculation which sell hotter than any commodity in the nation’s capital. That’s the easy part. Lining up adequate support for its candidate looks tougher now than only a few days earlier unless distance is created between Ms Banerjee and Mr Yadav. The Congress may at least be aroused to the need for showing leadership, at the political level and that of governance, a lack which is costing the party and the country dear.
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