BJP unsure on Dy Speaker

NEW DELHI, DEC 10: Though a Congress victory is on the cards, the BJP is to take a final decision tomorrow on whether to put up its nomin...

NEW DELHI, DEC 10: Though a Congress victory is on the cards, the BJP is to take a final decision tomorrow on whether to put up its nominee for deputy speaker. A meeting of the BJP and its allies has been called by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee tomorrow morning.

The election is expected to be notified by the Lok Sabha Speaker on Monday. The BJP is expected to decide not to field a candidate against the Congress nominee, P M Sayeed, since it would be unwilling to face the embarrassment of losing. If there is an election, it would expose the divide within the BJP-led coalition besides virtually becoming a trial of strength in the Lok Sabha. Leader of the Opposition, Sharad Pawar, met the PM today.

The BJP has reportedly abandoned its stand that the deputy speaker should be from the BJP and made a last-ditch effort to forge a consensus within the ruling coalition by putting up a candidate from among the allies. The name of Samata Party MP, Abdul Gafoor, was doing the rounds.

However, this fellthrough when Mamata Banerjee and J Jayalalitha stuck to guns and said that their parties would support Sayeed. The BJP was apparently hoping that putting up a Muslim candidate against Sayeed would do the trick. The post of deputy speaker has been vacant for an unprecedented eight months. The BJP had made it a prestige issue, insisting that its nominee should get the post as the Speaker is not from the BJP but from the Telugu Desam Party which is giving the government issue-based support. The Congress, on the other hand, quoted convention that the post goes to the Opposition.

The final nail in the BJP8217;s coffin was driven by AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha, who declared yesterday that the deputy speaker8217;s post should go to the Opposition. In the monsoon session, Mamata Banerjee had announced her support to Sayeed and the Samata Party was also reportedly in Sayeed8217;s favour.

Meanwhile, the BJP today admitted that the AIADMK joining tomorrow8217;s Opposition-sponsored strike against the government8217;s policies was a8220;peculiar and unusual situation8221;. Party spokesperson M Venkaiah Naidu said, 8220;People in government cannot go on strike against the government. It won8217;t do them or the government any good.8221; However, he said, he did not want to join issue with friendly parties.