Govt may revoke Rule

However, the two most vociferous opponents to Article 356, the Telegu Desam Party and the Akali Dal, are believed to have traded their support to the government motion on Bihar in return for an assurance that President8217;s Rule in the State would be withdrawn almost immediately.

The strong feelings on Article 356 within its coalition left the BJP with few options, particularly after the Congress refused to go along with thedecision to slap President8217;s Rule in Bihar.

But the allies found unexpected support from a section of senior leaders in the BJP. Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Industry Minister Sikander Bakht are believed to expressed their reservations on this issue at a Cabinet meeting two days ago.

They pointed out that they were not in Delhi that fateful day when the decision to dismiss the Rabri Devi Government was taken. Had they been present at the late-night Cabinet meeting chaired by Home Minister L K Advani, they would have opposed it, they are believed to have told Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Vajpayee himself is anxious to bring the ongoing controversy to an end as soon as possible so that the Government can proceed with the budget session. The TDP, the Akali Dal, the National Conference and the Biju Janata Dal all made no bones about their unhappiness over the development during their discussions with the Prime Minister over the past few days.

In fact, it was quiteclear to the BJP leadership that the Samata Party stood isolated in the coalition on this issue. Samata leaders made a last ditch effort to retrieve the situation in their favour by dropping broad hints about changing Bihar Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari in return for Congress support in the Rajya Sabha. But their offer was a non-starter with neither the Congress, nor the BJP ready to play along.

Although revocation is most certainly an embarrassment, Government managers feel that by getting their allies to back them in the Lok Sabha, they have reinforced their majority in the People8217;s House. Having pitched the Bihar resolution as a confidence motion, they feel that they have won the moral right to govern8211;a right which was being challenged by the Congress when it announced that it would oppose the resolution.

The BJP8217;s desperate efforts to bring its allies, particularly the TDP, around may have tided the Government over its biggest crisis so far. But its troubles are not quite over.

Bhandari isbelieved to have told Vajpayee that he has no intention of staying on in Bihar if the Rabri Devi Government is reinstated. The Government may thus be presented with another embarrassment when Bhandari puts in his papers.

It also brings on the headache of finding a successor who is acceptable to both the BJP and the Samata Party8211;not an easy task given the fissures that have crept into the alliance after the latest misadventure with the Rabri Government.