CPI(M) veteran Jyoti Basu could hold the key to a compromise to end the nuclear deadlock that threatens to bring down the Manmohan Singh government.
NEW DELHI: CPI(M) veteran Jyoti Basu could hold the key to a compromise to end the nuclear deadlock that threatens to bring down the Manmohan Singh government in October.
Sources in both the Congress and the Left have pinned their hopes on Basu’s meeting with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee in Kolkata last weekend before the latter left for the United States.
The details of their private talk have not trickled down to others in their respective parties yet, but after the meeting, Mukherjee, for the first time since the crisis exploded, sounded optimistic. ``I am hopeful that the issue will get resolved (at the October 5 meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the nuclear deal),’’ he told correspondents.
A highly-placed Left source said the statement was significant as it suggests that the two leaders may have discussed a formula for a dignified retreat from the impending confrontation next month when the government begins negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency for an India-specific safeguards agreement. The Left has threatened to withdraw support to the government if it approaches the IAEA.
The CPI(M)’s politburo meeting on September 28 may offer an indication of the compromise formula being hammered out. The Congress hopes Basu will be able to manoeuvre opinion in this decision-making body.
The statement at the end of the politburo’s deliberations will set the stage for the October 5 meeting of the nuclear committee, which may turn out to be a make-or-break one for the government.
A Congress source said this meeting will signal whether a compromise is possible or not. A Left source said the odds for a resolution were 50:50. However, as time wears on, the enthusiasm for an early poll is distinctly waning on both sides. One of the critical factors for this is the realisation that even after they part ways, they may have to again join hands to form the next government as neither the Third Front option nor an NDA-led coalition seem feasible.
``We know that it will be a coalition government again,’’ said a Congress leader on condition of anonymity. ``And there is a distinct possibility that we will turn to the Left for support, rather than the BSP.’’
The Congress is increasingly reluctant to enter into a partnership with the BSP for two reasons. One is that Mayawati is a demanding and difficult ally, as the BJP’s experience with her has shown. The second is the BSP poses the most serious political challenge to the Congress because both are vying for votes from the same social groups.
An early election, therefore, defies political logic for the Congress as well as the Left. But both are keeping their poll powder dry just in case Basu, with a little help from West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, fails to swing it on September 28.
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