The Hindu : Democratic Front Govt. in a precarious position

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Saturday, Jun 15, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Democratic Front Govt. in a precarious position

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI June 14. Vilasrao Deshmukh has won the trust motion but the Democratic Front (DF) coalition that he leads is truncated: the Samajwadi Party, the CPI (M) and the Peasants and Workers Party left its fold and the Janata Dal (S) is split. The CPI (M) and the PWP will not bail it out since they have little in common except their aversion to the Shiv Sena and the BJP.

To expect their support is naive; the DF understands it very well. That is why it tried unsuccessfully to rope in the PWP back after the CPI (M) grudgingly backed the trust move. Mr. Deshmukh said: ``we are ideologically reduced now with their departure.''

The PWP, which wanted a public apology from the Congress (I) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for having ``made local deals with the Sena and the BJP in local bodies'', was magnanimous in remaining neutral.

The DF, thus, is in a precarious position. The Opposition is a loser as well. Its credibility is in tatters as it is being seen as a mere power-seeker with no respect to the means. This failure would be a setback for Sena's Narayan Rane who often told the Sena leader, Bal Thackeray, ``it was in the bag, except for being a couple of MLAs short'' for about two and a half years.

The BJP's Gopinath Munde too would have to explain why he could not deliver.

The most loyal amongst the parties in the coalition, the Congress (I) and the NCP, concede that it is time to remove uncertainties and give Maharashtra a Government that can govern with a decisive mandate. They favour a mid-term poll. But the political sagacity is to play it safe till the five-year term is over. If Mr. Deshmukh, in his 31-month stint as Chief Minister, gave the impression of being laidback, doing only crisis management, the NCP is guilty of allowing that to happen.

However, the latest crisis has brought the two parties closer. But it is unlikely to make them come close enough to end the tussle for the same political space. If the rivalry continues they will be in trouble at election time in another two years.

Dissatisfied MLAs have to be accommodated, either as Ministers or handed over offices of profit. But not all can be given such gifts and it is here that trouble could surface again.

MLAs have realised that a mere threat to resign and reduce the number of the ruling coalition is enough to make the Government grovel.The choice, therefore, is for Mr. Deshmukh to either ask all MLAs to fall in line and work for the State's benefit instead of seeking personal gains, or to bring in a person who can do this. Already, a small band of partymen have come together, seeking his replacement.

Mr. Deshmukh and the party chief, Govindrao Adik, just do not get along. They have been told that either they get along or one of them goes. Even in the NCP, there are contradictions galore, with a leadership doing little to address them. The very fact that five NCP MLAs could be lured by the Sena-BJP combine is significant.

They thought little of crossing the ideological divide between the DF and the saffron.

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Democratic Front Govt. in a precarious position