The concept of working majority may be alien to the Constitution but it does suggest a solution to the present political deadlock at the Centre. To obtain a simple majority, the BJP needs the support of about 20 more MPs. Half the party's problem is over if the 12-member Telugu Desam Party decides to support its claim to form a government. As TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu heads the United Front and he has always been perceived as a cementing force in the heterogeneous Front, it is indeed difficult for him to join hands with the BJP. He cannot also be oblivious to the challenge the BJP poses on his home turf where it secured 24 per cent of the popular vote, whose reflection in the next Assembly election can upset his hopes of returning to power. Needless to say, the TDP is under no compulsion to support either the BJP or the Congress to form a government. But to keep `equidistance' means to spoil the chances of a government from within the new House. That would be too harsh apunishment for the voters who have in their wisdom left it to the MPs to adapt themselves to a hung Parliament. It is against this backdrop that the relevance of the concept of working majority assumes significance.Once the BJP is invited to form a government - there is at present no reason why it should not be all that it is required to do is to prove that it has the support of a majority of those present on the day of voting. In other words, if the TDP members abstain from voting or stay neutral, the government will be able to carry on provided the promises the BJP has already obtained from some independents and smaller parties fructify.Narasimha Rao's is a classic case of a minority government completing its full tenure of five years. As events showed, Rao could have proved his majority even without allegedly bribing the four JMM MPs for his floor managers had ensured some strategic abstentions too. However, a better comparison will be with the first C. Achutha Menon Ministry in Kerala in the lateSixties. The CPI-led Front was short of a majority but this did not prevent it from winning several trials of strength in the House. Consummate coalition leader that Menon was, he saw to it that the Congress, which was in the Opposition, had no option but to support his government for fear of the CPM usurping power. Though the Front went in for elections after a few months, its tenure was noted for the progressive pieces of legislation it enacted.The Kerala experiment proved that majority, however desirable it may be, is not a prerequisite for good governance. Come to think of it, the people did not benefit from the steamroller majority Rajiv Gandhi obtained in the 1984 election. The absence of a clear majority is a bother but it is no constraint to a party intent upon providing a good government. By coming up with innovative political and economic programmes, the party can corner the Opposition into supporting it lest its critics lose whatever popular support they enjoy. For that it does not matterwhether the BJP enjoys a working majority or an absolute majority.
