NEW DELHI, Nov 24: Propelled by the fear of an impending mid-term election, a group of 54 first-time Members of parliament from across the political spectrum urged President K R Narayanan this evening to exhaust all possibilities for the formation of an alternative government before dissolving the Lok Sabha.A one-line appeal signed by all of them was handed over to the President at a ten-minute meeting in Rashtrapati Bhavan which followed a stormy discussion at the Parliament House Annexe.Although the MPs denied later that this was the first step towards supporting a Vajpayee-led coalition, the Bhartiya Janata Party is reportedly watching the developments with keen interest. Significantly, according to Janata Dal MP from Karnataka, S Koujalgi, who was one of the 54 signatories, at least 20 MPs in the group belong to the Congress. This is nearly half the number required to formalise a split in the party. Another 6 are from the Janata Dal and two from the DMK. The rest being MPs of the BJP and its allies.The BJP's hopes of heading an alternative government rest on breakaway groups from the Congress and the United Front crossing the floor. Today's meeting of MPs was the first public indication that the BJP's plans may be more than just a pie in the sky.Meanwhile, political circles pointed out that many of the signatories, including those from the Congress, have been talking privately about supporting a BJP-led coalition government if the Gujral Government falls. They have not come out openly because no major leader is ready to oppose the official party line. The banner of first-time MPs provides a forum for dissidents within each party to band together into a cohesive group which could later offer support to the BJP.Koujalgi said the MPs would meet again tomorrow morning by which time he expected the numbers to swell to around 200. They will then go to meet the President for another show of strength. ``We are 284 new MPs in this Lok Sabha. We do not want elections so soon. Those demanding elections are Rajya Sabha MPs and defeated MPs,'' he declared.While the majority of those who initiated today's move against a mid-term poll are first-timers, some who signed the representation to the President were old hands like Manoranjan Bhakta of the Congress.The MPs were certainly in a defiant and angry mood. ``We cannot allow the entire country to be sacrificed for one man (Rajiv Gandhi),'' exclaimed an agitated Akali Dal MP. ``We feel Narayanan should allow other parties to explore the possibility of forming an alternative government,'' said BJP MP Nitish Bhardwaj.The chant was unanimously for an alternative. But none was ready to define what this meant. The crunch comes if the UF and Congress fail in a consensus effort, the ball would then be in the President's court.
