Pawar finds takers for Front

In Delhi there was some good news for Pawar and the rebels with some BJP allies 8212; Samata Party, Ramakrishna Hegde and Mamata Banerjee 8212; sending feelers and hinting or even openly suggesting an electoral alliance with Pawar. Janata Dal leader Ram Vilas Paswan toodeclared his support for Pawar.However, till Pawar holds talks with Tariq Anwar and P A Sangma on Monday, what shape the new forum will take as well as the possible alliances would remain uncertain.

Paswan today met Sangma at the latter8217;s residence. He told reporters later that while he could not speak on behalf of his party, he personally welcomed the rebels8217; plan to float a new outfit. The issue raised by them, he said, 8220;is real and will have a widespread impact all over the country and across all sections of society.8221;

His views will be discussed by the Janata Dal8217;s political affairs committee which is meeting here next week. While former Prime Minister H.D.Deve Gowda is backing Sonia, other party leaders have not made their views public.Hegde today stressed on an alliance between the BJP-Shiv Sena combine and Pawar if the latter formed a regional outfit. But he added that the Lok Shakti8217;s alliance with the BJP would continue. 8220;While there is no question of the Lok Shakti disassociating itself fromthe BJP during the ensuing elections and joining hands with any new political group, it will be mutually beneficial for all concerned to join hands in Maharashtra,8221; he said.

The Samata Party stopped short of advocating an alliance with Pawar but made it clear that it had an open mind on the Maratha leader. Though it was 8220;too early8221; to go for a political alliance with the Pawar group, argued Shambhu Srivastava, chaiperson of Samata8217;s international department, the party was a 8220;co-traveller8221; with him on the issue of Sonia Gandhi8217;s foreign origin.But like Hegde, Samata8217;s proposed support to Pawar is conditional. Said Srivastava: 8220;We have already declared Atal Behari Vajpayee as our prime ministerial candidate. We are absolutely clear in our mind and there can be no compromise on this. If Pawar wants to join us, he will have to accept this as well as our common agenda.8221;

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, meanwhile, rejected the charge that he and former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar had8220;instigated8221; the three Congress rebels to question Sonia Gandhi8217;s credentials to become Prime Minister.

In an interview to a private TV channel, Yadav said: 8220;They are not leaders who can be instigated. Who can instigate them? It is their conscience that has awakened, because it is not Sonia Gandhi alone, but a long line behind her. We will caution the country about this line.8221;

Tariq and Sangma stayed at home for the better part of the day and met a few persons only. In the evening, however, some half-a-dozen MPs from Meghalaya trooped down to Sangma8217;s residence and held talks with him, expressing their support.

In Maharashtra, meanwhile, the defections from the party grew into a steady stream as Pawar8217;s moves to form an alternative front received two major bonusee. Sadashiv Mandlik, an MP in the dissolved Lok Sabha, and Arun Diwekar, former Maharashtra minister resigned from the primary membership of the party in protest against the CWC decision to expel the Maratha stalwart.The second blow to theparent party came as Vasant Chavan, MPCC spokesman, resigned from his post terming the CWC decision as unjust8217;. He however, made it clear that he was not resigning from the primary membership of the congress. In his letter to MPCC president Prataprao Bhosale, Chavan said 8220;I will not be able to justify this undemocratic action and hence I am resigning as the party spokesman8221;.

Leader of Opposition in State Legislative Council Chhagan Bhujbal, who was also present on the occasion, announced that Chavan would henceforth be the spokesman of Congress Legislature Party.