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BJP managers win over DMK, Lok Dal to its side

George Iype in New Delhi

The eve of the confidence vote saw the Bharatiya Janata Party's efforts to attain the magic number beginning to materialise.

On Friday, the four-member Indian National Lok Dal had U-turned, reposing faith in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government after the BJP crisis managers offered to fulfil Om Parkash Chautala's demands. Aggrieved at the Left parties' decision to join hands with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalitha, the six-member Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam too declared its unconditional support.

In return, Vajpayee is reported to have offered important ministerial posts to the DMK and Lok Dal in a Cabinet expansion soon after the trust vote. The prime minister also promised to accept Chautala's demand for reversing the cut in urea subsidy, and DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's request for central support to pursue Jayalalitha's prosecution on corruption charges.

Solace also came for the beleaguered coalition from two other quarters: The five-member Bahujan Samaj Party and the three-member Tamil Maanila Congress are said to have officially agreed to abstain from voting during the motion.

Sources said the prime minister's emissary and Human Resource Development Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi has been trying to clinch a deal with BSP president Kanshi Ram since Thursday night. Accordingly, if BSP votes for the government, two of its members will be made ministers at Centre.

But Kanshi Ram is insisting on removing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh as a pre-condition. Though the BJP leadership has not promised to axe Kalyan Singh, the BSP may abstain in the hope that the deal will be worked out.

Though Vajpayee can win the trust vote with support from the INLD, the DMK, and Rashtriya Janata Party leader Anand Mohan, the BJP coalition will take a new shape in such an event.

The BJP leadership also hopes that Janata Dal's Ram Vilas Paswan and former prime minister Chandra Shekhar will come to its rescue.

BJP crisis managers have also agreed to help rescue its existing partners like the Biju Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party from splits. The dissidence in the parties was quelled after the prime minister's emissaries former Rajasthan chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan and Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Kumaramangalam offered ministerial posts to rebel leaders.

"We have definite information that the Congress and other Opposition parties have been trying to split our alliance partners. They are engaged in horse-trading because the Congress and AIADMK know that our government will survive," BJP vice-president K R Malkani told Rediff On The NeT.

He said the party leadership was optimistic that both the DMK and the INLD would offer unconditional support. "We are now very happy that Jayalalitha is no more with us," Malkani added.

The BJP leaders, meanwhile, is not leaving anything to chance. "It will be tight rope walk," they admitted in the Lok Sabha on Saturday.

"It is a daunting task as a difference of one MP can make all the difference," one BJP official said, adding that most senior leaders are working overtime to woo at least five Independent MPs.

Friday also saw the Opposition parties, led by the Congress, scurrying from place to place to complete the toppling operation.

Sensing that the initial euphoria created by her declaration to form a new government, and the subsequent withdrawal of support to Vajpayee is fast fading, Jayalalitha met Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Communist Party of India General Secretary A B Bardhan.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also deployed a number of senior leaders to negotiate with the DMK, INLD and the TMC. Enthused by her meeting with Jayalalitha, Sonia made it clear to the Left, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha and the AIADMK that the Congress is not averse to leading an alternative government.

A senior Congress leader from the South pointed out that a major drawback of the Opposition effort is "the complete disunity and confusion among the various parties."

"The Congress, the AIADMK, the Left parties and the RLM all have been talking in different languages in the past one week. Therefore, it seems we are losing the game," the Congress leader told Rediff On The NeT.

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