Cong will try to bring Left around

After the Supreme Court disqualified 37 MLAs who quit the BSP to support Mulayam Singh Yadav, all parties broadly agree that the continuance of his government is untenable. However, the Left parties, particularly the CPM, are against the use of Article 356.

The Congress wants to avoid a head-on confrontation with the CPM on this. It is also thinking through the issue carefully, for it wants to avoid the embarrassment of moving to dismiss Mulayam Singh Yadav only to find the President raising questions. A highly-placed source in the party did not rule out the possibility of a 8220;last-minute retreat.8221;

But for now the Congress is acting as if there8217;s no looking back. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already spoken to DMK chief M. Karunanidhi and NCP leader Sharad Pawar. The broad political consensus is for the dismissal of the Yadav Government, and the chief opposition party, the BJP, too wants him out.

Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is to talk to CPM leaders on Tuesday to try to bring them around. A UPA co-ordination committee meeting is also likely on Tuesday. 8220;The next 24-48 hours are crucial,8221; said a senior Congress leader. After the CWC meeting, Congress general-secretary Janardhan Dwivedi told reporters the government would talk to all partners in the UPA coalition before any decision on Uttar Pradesh. He said that, in the party itself, there was no difference of opinion on the issue.

8220;The SC verdict has rendered the UP government unconstitutional and it is for the government to take necessary steps,8221; he said.

All leaders who spoke at the CWC meeting supported the dismissal of Mulayam Singh Yadav, but some said the UPA was more important than Uttar Pradesh so any decision should be broad-based.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil did not speak on the UP issue.