Samata Party president and Defence Minister George Fernandes are set to meet with Railways Minister Nitish Kumar in a last-minute bid to avert a split in the party. The proposed meeting, according to sources, would indicate whether the two can work out a formula to work together or not. The sources, however, are skeptical of a positive outcome. They conceded that ‘‘any formula drawn by the two leaders may delay a split but would not prevent it.’’ It would be difficult for Nitish now to retrace his steps after having demanded the heads of five prominent Fernandes loyalists and the removal of leaders of the party in both the Bihar Assembly and the legislative council. On the other hand, Fernandes, who had earlier sought peace with Nitish by agreeing to the removal of Raghunath Jha as the convenor of the Bihar party unit, would find it difficult to meet the latest demand. Fernandes, still keeping his cards close to his chest, dodged all attempts by the media to draw him out on the issue today. ‘‘I shall talk to you on every subject tomorrow,’’ he told journalists on the sidelines of a function organised for the release of the craft map of West Bengal at the India Habitat Centre this evening. The Railways Minister, on the other hand, maintained: ‘‘There is no crisis at all.Everything will be settled amicably.’’
