Congress president Sitaram Kesri's statement that his party is not averse to joining the United Front Government if such a proposal emanates from the 14-party coalition is a precautionary move. His intention is to keep those Congress MPs, who are not content with supporting the government from outside, hopeful, rather than restless. Obviously, Kesri does not want a repeat at the Central level of what occurred in the party's UP unit. In reversing the Congress' stand on joining the government, he wants to obviate the need for Congress MPs to leave the party in search of greener pastures. BJP chief L.K. Advani might have been mischievous in disclosing that some Congress MPs were ready to leave the party to support a BJP government. However, it is no secret that a section of the Congress MPs, who are used to availing themselves of the benefits of power, are unhappy playing second fiddle to the United Front like the Gujarat legislators led by Chhabildas Mehta who are keen to join the Dilip Parikh Ministry. It is this section which the BJP wants to lure with ministerial berths as in UP. But there are many imponderables which the BJP seems to overlook in its overweening desire to try at the Centre the UP model of government formation. For instance, a majority of the Congress MPs got elected from States where the BJP is not much of a force. Any deal that they strike with the BJP can prove more a political liability than an asset in the next election.Similarly, the Congress joining the United Front is easier said than done. It is almost impossible for the Left parties, particularly the CPI(M), to reconcile themselves to a situation whereby they share power with the Congress. Even if the Left parties are dispensable for the successful running of a government, there is no guarantee that a party like the Telugu Desam or the Asom Gana Parishad will agree to such a situation, more so when they are in direct competition with the Congress in their respective states. In the unlikely event of the UF-Left agreeing to let the Congress into the Government, there will be problems on the leadership issue with the Congress likely to insist on getting the prime ministership for one of its own leaders. The danger of any move to induct the Congress snowballing into a life-threatening situation for the coalition cannot, therefore, be ruled out. Political prudence suggests that the best option available to the Congress is to keep supporting the government from outside since it is not prepared to face an early election. No one knows this better than Kesri, who had tried in vain to cobble together a workable majority so that he could fulfill his ambition of becoming the Prime Minister.But admission of this reality will mean the Congress losing its bargaining power vis-a-vis the United Front. It will also be tantamount to playing into the hands of those MPs who will be shortsighted enough to fall for the bait that the BJP might offer them. There can be no doubt that the BJP's game plan has already dented Kesri's confidence about keeping his partymen united. That they are vulnerable to temptations does not show either the Congress or its chief in good light.
