Cong., SP cautious on Opposition unity

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI, NOV. 27. A day after they broke bread together, for the first time in recent memory, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, preferred a cautious approach on Opposition unity, although Mr. Somnath Chatterjee of the CPI(M), who hosted the dinner on Monday, held out the hope of an expanding relationship, extending perhaps even to Uttar Pradesh.

Asked if the understanding reached on floor coordination in Parliament could extend to U.P., Mr. Chatterjee did not rule out the possibility. ``Let's see how it unfolds,'' he said. The Congress spokesperson, Mr. Jaipal Reddy, sought to inject a note of caution, maintaining that the ``dinner meeting was intended to ensure floor coordination and nothing more.''

Having agreed to do business after a sustained period of mutual bitterness, the Congress and the SP perhaps want to give the new floor coordination idea time to develop into something stronger, rather than allow the hype generated by the dinner to dictate the course of events. Hence the caution.

Political circles view this development more as an attempt to prepare the ground for the post-poll scenario in Uttar Pradesh, rather than as a precursor to a pre-poll electoral arrangement. Neither the SP nor the Congress can possibly afford to enter into a seat-sharing arrangement as both the parties would like to contest the maximum number of seats.

The significance of Monday's dinner meeting lies in the fact that it has helped break the ice between the two parties and opened up the ``possibility''of a consolidation of Opposition forces. Clearly, the development has got the BJP worried. It has begun questioning how the SP and Congress could come closer when both are fighting for the same minority votes.

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