Arjun checkmates Kesri, Congress waits for Sonia’s next move

At every stage in recent days Singh has shown Sitaram Kesri to be softpedalling the issue, creating an impression that the Congress President is in league with Prime Minister I K Gujral, something Kesri had accused his predecessor P V Narasimha Rao and then prime minsiter Deve Gowda of doing so. This has put Kesri in a poor light. As it is 10, Janpath is not very happy with the Congress president.

As elections seemed imminent on Friday with the United Front’s firm no to the Congress demand of dumping DMK, the upbeat mood of the Congressmen seemed to give way to anxiety. Congressmen began to question whether they had bitten more than they could chew. Party leaders have been stalling both Houses of parliament because they do not want to face a discussion on the Jain Commission Report. They fear it would also expose the role of the Congress in encouraging and training the LTTE.

In the last 24 hours they have also become unsure that Sonia Gandhi would campaign for the party. Somehow the MPs were fed with this ghutti (potion), though nobody knows what is the actual position. Panic buttons were pressed when Sonia did not show up at the Congress party office on November 19 (Indira’s birthday), and Narayan Dutt Tiwari went to hand over the mashal to her, she kept him waiting for half-an-hour before accepting it quickly without too many words. Others who have seen her in the last two-three days say she is steering clear of the subject, and they are not really sure what that means.

Competing with Arjun Singh in hawkishness on the Rajiv issue is Jitendra Prasada. Though the party vice president was the first to demand that the Jain Report be tabled in Parliament, it is Arjun Singh who is perceived to be closer to 10,Janpath.

The target of both is Kesri, and both are playing for the post-Kesri scenario. Their objective is party presidentship (as a first step towards prime ministership). Their route is via 10,Janpath, by finding favour with Sonia Gandhi.

Arjun Singh struck the day after the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution on the Jain Report which was seen to be softpedalling the issue. He called a press conference at the All India Congress Committee office and put the record straight about all that he had done in the matter. As a member of the CWC, Singh realised that he would lose a lot of ground if he did not go to town on the issue on which he had resigned. That was the beginning of Operation Checkmate chacha.

In the last few days, every time Kesri tried to defuse the situation, Singh escalated it. Even yesterday Singh insisted that the party should demand action against all those indicted and not just the DMK ministers. Kesri wanted to limit the Congress demand to jettisoning the ministers in the hope of strengthening the hands of those in the UF who wanted to save the government. A triumvirate comprising Harkishen Singh Surjeet, G K Moopanar and Mulayam Singh Yadav had been at work. But the moment the hawks included the demand for action against "others" in the resolution of the Congress Parliamentary Party, the damage was done. It convinced the UF that no matter what Kesri promised, his writ was not likely to run. Today it would be the DMK ministers, tomorrow the dismissal of the DMK government, the day after action against P Chidambaram and then V P Singh’s prosecution. The UF closed ranks.

Had a beleagured Kesri managed to get the scalps of the DMK ministers, as he did with Deve Gowda earlier this year, the party would have rallied behind him again. As things are, he has lost a lot of ground. The day may not be far off when the Congress President’s authority will be challenged.

It is too early to say whether Arjun Singh has overshot himself. He miscalculated when he failed to resign the day the Babri Masjid was demolished, and again when he split the party to form the Congress (Tiwari).