Old Man In A Hurry

Consider: when Mr Kesri became Congress president, it was open to him to have joined the government. Indeed, the then prime minister, H D Deve Gowda, offered him and his party some half a dozen cabinet posts. But Mr Kesri would have none of it because, he argued, the UF government was surviving only with Congress support and, therefore, the only way the Congress could be in government was by having the prime ministership meaning himself in the chair. So he spurned the offer and instead, without much warning and for no understandable reason, in March brought down the Deve Gowda government. It turned out later that he expected the United Front to split, so that the Congress could form the government with him as the prime minister. But he miscalculated for the second time and the attempt ended in a fiasco: the UF government remained, only the prime minister changed. In that sense, Mr Kesri got no nearer his goal than he had been earlier.

By now opposition to him within the party was beginning to gather head and he decided that the only way he could stave off a challenge to his leadership was by adopting Sonia Gandhi as his mentor and leader. He didnt seem to think it necessary to check with her first and when, as usual, the lady said nothing, everyone assumed that Mr Kesri had her support. But this support seemed to vanish when the Jain Commission report was leaked. Sensing an opportunity, his adversaries in the party decided to force his hand. He was compelled to threaten the UF with withdrawal of support if it didnt eject the DMK from its ranks. But, as over the issue in Uttar Pradesh (when the Congress forced the government to recommend the dismissal of the BJP government even after it had won the confidence of the House) his bluff has been called.

That makes up the four miracles for which he seems to be taking credit while promising a fifth. Leaving aside the definition of miracles, Mr Kesri has only two options, both unenviable. He either eats crow and lets the government continue with Congress support; or he withdraws support and faces an election for which he has no stomach. Either way his goose is cooked: his partymen will not allow him to function if the government continues; and the Congress faces bleak prospects if a general election is held in spring. In other words, Sitaram Kesri has led the party up the creek and left it without a paddle