Cong to Narayanan: go for 2nd term

The Congress has set the cat among the pigeons with party president Sonia Gandhi today formally asking President K R Narayanan to consider a...

The Congress has set the cat among the pigeons with party president Sonia Gandhi today formally asking President K R Narayanan to consider a second term. She put the proposal to Narayanan during a 45-minute meeting this afternoon. Congress sources said the President told her he has an open mind on the issue.

With this move, the stage is set for a battle of nerves between the Opposition and the Government over the forthcoming presidential elections. Vajpayee had indicated to Sonia last week the NDA8217;s reluctance to sponsor Narayanan for a second term. However, in the absence of a suggestion from him for a compromise alternative candidate, the Congress seems to have decided to take the gamble and openly pitch for Narayanan with the calculation that most parties, including the BJP, will find it politically difficult to oppose a Dalit.

Of course, the Congress gambit is based on the assupmtion that Narayanan will go along with the Opposition plan to corner the Government, even risking a contest if necessary. Before he went on his two-week holiday to Ooty, the President is believed to have told interlocutors in the Congress and Left that he is willing for a second term but only if there is a consensus on his name. The outcome of the emerging battle between the NDA and the Opposition thus rests in Narayanan8217;s hands and he is expected to sound out political opinion over the next few days before taking a decision.

The electoral college for the president is so finely balanced between BJP, Congress and smaller parties both in the NDA and outside it, that the the presidential polls is in danger of falling victim to political one upmanship. One of the factors that has gone into the Congress party8217;s decision to open its cards at this stage is the argument that the present dispensation for the two top posts should continue in view of the prevailing security situation.

Congress leaders feel that it would be embarrassing for any party to create at this juncture a situation in which a contest for the post of president becomes inevitable. 8216;8216;We8217;ll become a laughing the stock in the world because a contest will sned signals that we can8217;t even agree on a common candidate for president,8217;8217; said one leader.

Government circles seemed taken aback by the Congress decision to show its hand today. But they admitted that it may force Vajpayee to move quickly and wrap up the presidential question before he leaves for Kazakhstan so that the BJP doesn8217;t get outmanouvered by the Opposition. Government sources said Vajpayee is scheduled to meet the President to brief him on Indo-Pak situation. The meeting will give the PM and President an opportunity to assess each other and decide their next move.