As the D-day (22 July) nears, the hot pursuit for either saving the government or pushing it to fall is on the peak, with buying and selling of MPs are going behind the curtains. Amidst hectic political parleys, quick visitations and aggressive canvassing, parties are working overnight to lure or distract MPs. The Congress-led UPA is facing the toughest time, as the magical number of 272 seems a hard nut to crack. And July 22 will make it all clear whether the UPA gets the mandate or not. There are apprehensions, confusions, surprises and disbeliefs in the air, as accusations and counter accusations are being hurled various political parties on one another.
Since Prakash-led Left deserted the UPA over N-deal between India and US, political crisis has deepened in the country, and arguably, it was well reasoned that the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh must seek vote of confidence in the Parliament before he goes ahead for concluding all-important N-deal that could prove watershed in the history of the country. That was necessary as a clear mandate is must for such a historic step, which is perhaps going to shape India’s foreign policy in days to come.
First, we heard of 25-crore bribe being paid to the MPs, and none other but a leader of A B Bardhan stature has leveled the charge against Congress of indulging in horse trading. It reminds us of infamous JMM bribery case, one of the high profile political scandals in recent times, occurred during P V Narsimha Rao regime when the government was accused of paying hefty pay off. Though the court had exonerated all the accused in the JMM bribery case, questions remained echoing as to why such clandestine deals are those involved in them are no caught and prosecuted. It was Sibu Soren’s JMM then, and it is Sibu Soren again, who has decided to side the Congress on the voting day.
We witness ministers visiting jails to lure the jailbirds to their sides. We see the PM inviting Deve Gowda, the JD (S) leader to Delhi to seek support. We know that the Lucknow Airport was renamed after Chaudhary Charan Singh, the late Prime Minister of India and father of Ajit Singh, who has three valuable MPs. We read N Chandrababu Naidu of TDP visiting Mayawati to ask for her support. Even one of N Chandrababu Naidu’s colleagues mooted the idea of making Behenji as Prime Minister in case Manmohan Singh does not secure the magical number. And we have seen Ambanis visiting PMOs either for political settlement or mediation purpose. All sorts of mysterious things are happening on the eve of trust vote.
The coming of Amar Singh to the Congress camp was another startling development, as few months back both Congress and SP were at loggerheads over petty issues and were engaged in rooting one another out from not only UP but also from other parts of the country. But once, Congress realised Mayawati and her BSP is going hostile to its scheme of things in UP, it parted ways with her and shook hands with Maulyam Singh Yadav, who has been desperate to hog the limelight since his defeat in the last Assembly elections in the state. Since the day Rahul Gandhi started his philanthropic tour to Dalit houses, eating and sleeping with them, Mayawati got alert as she sensed her votes being robbed off by the Congress scion. Since Mulayam Singh Yadav, her bete noire, shook hands with Congress, she is left with no choice but to oppose the government.
The latest news is that the Congress MPs have a visit Madam Sonia Gandhi at her residence where she asked them to stand united in the face of trial of strength. As many MPs have are mum on the question of favouring or opposing, the battle for the vote of confidence is headed towards neck to neck fight. While the people’s representatives are on sale, people are watching with disdain the ongoing drama of horse trading. As the people are watching the nasty political game, close rendezvous and clandestine dealing, they are sure to teach the leaders a good lesson in the elections.
Here, we should remember that Vajpayee government lost the vote of confidence in 1999 by just one vote. Let us see what happens this time.
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