HE still remains the crisis manager of the Janata Dal. This is the one inescapable conclusion that could be drawn from the role the former prime minister V.P. Singh played in bringing a semblance of cohesiveness to a party in disarray over its plans for the forthcoming general elections.
The major predicament before the Janata Dal (JD) last week was the question of working out alliances that would restore the National Front to its former glory. And the crucial issue of whether to go with Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) or to align with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh. All of last week, the bevy of JD leaders hotly debated the issue and the party looked perilously divided on the choice of its ally. Finally, with the pro-SP and pro-BSP factions flexing their muscles, it was left to V.P. Singh to bring some sort of order and push the party to take a decision. The JD's Parliamentary Affairs Committe (PAC), after a late night dinner meeting at the former prime minister's residence on November 10, eventually decided that the party would have an electoral understanding in Uttar Pradesh with Mulayam Singh Yadav's SP without foreclosing its options on any other future alliances.
But apart from the concretisation of V.P. Singh as the man of the moment, this entire episode exposed the divisive caste-based infighting in the JD. The agreement was hammered out more due to an instinct for survival than any convergence of principles. It was apparent that Ram Vilas Paswan had consolidated his position as one of the heirs-apparent for the mantle of the party leadership. His bete noire Sharad Yadav had been sidelined to a great extent, while Laloo Prasad Yadav learnt that despite his overwhelming clout in the party, he too could be overruled. Besides, respected senior JD leaders like Biju Patnaik were furious that "cow-belt politics" had pushed the equally important issue of other regional alliances to the background.
While the logistics of the JD-SP alliance are yet to be worked out, what became apparent after the latest crisis in the JD is that the party sorely lacks a leader who enjoys the confidence of all factions. So when things went wrong, the JD leadership could think of nothing better than to send an SOS to V.P. Singh. The former prime minister may have opted out of politics but he till commands moral authority in the party. Indeed, now all JD leaders talk about the role played by V.P. Singh in resolving the contentious issue.
When V.P. Singh returned unobtrusively to the country after medical treatment abroad early last week, he was immediately drawn into resolving the question of alliances. The former prime minister had to contend with two overtly hostile groups—Messrs Paswan, Biju Patnaik and Bommai who wanted Mulayam Singh Yadav on board, and the Laloo-Sharad Yadav-Jaipal Reddy combine that had made its preference for the BSP clear.
V.P. Singh, whose health seems to have improved, swung into action. He held a series of one-to-one meetings with the leaders of the warring factions. What the veteran leader stressed during these meetings was the need for unity and a "practical and reasonable" approach to the issue.
But the final decision was not so simple. V.P. Singh's own assessment, according to Paswan, was that Mulayam Singh was the best bet for the JD since the BSP had ruled itself out by its recent truck with the BJP. Also, the party had become fragmented after the fall of the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh. But sources point out that it was apparent that Paswan felt that his position as the unrivalled Dalit leader of the party would be undermined by the BSP.
The pro-SP faction even launched a campaign against the BSP. Patnaik, perhaps the only leader opposing the BSP exclusively on ideological lines, led the charge. At a press conference in New Delhi last week, he accused the BSP of hurling abuse at Mahatma Gandhi. In private, the leaders in favour of Mulayam Singh went to the extent of saying that the pact with the SP had been worked out, though it is reliably learnt that V.P. Singh had only a brief talk on the telephone with the SP leader. On November 9, Mulayam Singh flew to Delhi and had a detailed discussion with Patnaik. "We thrashed out the issue then and there, and after that it was a mere formality," says Patnaik.
The Sharad Yadav logic, to which Laloo seemed a convert before alast-minute toning down of his stance, was that Mulayam Singh would appropriate the partyorganisation in Uttar Pradesh, that the workers in the state were against this alliance,and that Mulayam Singh seemed uninterested. What seemed apparent, however, was that SharadYadav knew that the presence of another Yadav leader like Mulayam in the alliance wouldeclipse him in Uttar Pradesh. And the fact that Paswans presence at a rally withMulayam Singh on November 5, which was bitterly opposed by Bommai, Laloo and Sharad Yadav,was brushed aside at the outset by the PAC as a non-issue was an ominous sign.
In fact, say party sources, the only reason why Sharad Yadav has notbeen completely marginalised is because of the support he received from Laloo, thepartys most prominent Yadav leader. "The fact that the four-member committeeappointed by the PAC to work out the modalities of the alliance in Uttar Pradesh includedSharad Yadav, is a pointer to this," said a senior JD leader.
But the problems for the third front remain. While the Uttar Pradesh issue may havebeen resolved for the time being, alliances still have to be firmed up in Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Punjab. Senior leaders such as Patnaik and H.D. Deve Gowda, whohave been aware of the necessity of crossing the hump in Uttar Pradesh are now gearing upto do the needful in these states as well. With the blessings of V.P. Singh, of course.
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