Allies keep govt on edge when it counts

As if the Opposition didn’t give the government enough to chew on during the debate on the censure motion, members of the National Demo...

As if the Opposition didn’t give the government enough to chew on during the debate on the censure motion, members of the National Democratic Alliance simply added to the tension. Till the last moment, the government’s floor managers — busy totting up and re-totting the ayes and nays — were kept guessing which way they would swing.

The govt’s headaches
• NC: Made it clear it would abstain, Omar’s offer to quit just another twist • TRINAMOOL: Said it would back govt but Mamata’s speech called for Modi’s sack • JD(U): Half the party’s MPs skipped morning meeting, they were planning to defy pro-govt whip • TDP: It had two options: abstain, or walk out. Till late at night, cards were kept close to Naidu’s chest

Some things were clear up front: the National Conference would abstain and the Telugu Desam Party would either abstain or walk out before the vote. But NDA leaders weren’t sure what effect that would have on other constituents like the Trinamool Congress.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had yesterday promised her party’s support to the government at the NDA meeting but some of her colleagues were unhappy over the decision. One school of thought in the party was that since it had acted in consonance with the TDP on most issues it should follow its lead even on the voting on the motion on Gujarat. But Banerjee’s speech — which called directly for Modi’s removal — did not say which way her party would vote.

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The six-member Janata Dal (United) group also gave the government something to worry about. When party chief and Labour Minister Sharad Yadav convened a meeting of his MPs in the morning, only three of the six turned up. Among those who didn’t were parliamentary party leader Devendra Prasad Yadav and Shashi Kumar, reportedly unhappy over the whip issued to them to vote in the government’s favour.

The duo were thinking in terms of defying the whip and abstaining. The NC’s decision to pull Omar Abdullah out of the government and yesterday’s resignation of Lok Janshakti leader Ram Vilas Paswan added to the pressure on TDP chief N.Chandrababu Naidu.

He was in touch through the day with TDP leaders here, who were weighing the pros and cons of exercising two options. One, to remain in the House when the vote is taken but abstain and two, to walk out. By late evening, they were veering round to exercising the second option.

‘‘If we walk out we can demonstrate our unhappiness with the government more effectively and send out an unambiguous message that we have not lost sight of our secular concerns’’, a senior TDP leader said.

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