The process of installing Congress president Sonia Gandhi as prime minister has gathered momentum. On Saturday, the Congress Parliamentary Party formally elected Sonia as its leader as letters of support came in from her pre-poll allies for a coalition led by her.
Among the parties that have extended their support in writing are Mehbooba Mufti's PDP, Ram Vilas Paswan's LJS, Shibu Soren's JMM and Chandrashekhara Rao's TRS.
Initially perceived as a reluctant supporter, the TRS leader sent in the letter of support after a meeting with Sonia during which she promised to look into his party's demand for a separate Telangana state.
Another pre-poll partner DMK, however, declared that it would stay out for now. Late Saturday, party leaders said they wanted to wait and watch the new government's performance before joining it.
The process of government formation --- the final step towards which will be a Presidential invitation based on the support letters ---is likely to take a couple of days. But before that, the Congress will have to reconcile differences with the Left parties on the key issue of economic reforms.
There were conflicting versions from the two camps on the progress of talks on the draft common minimum programme (CMP) prepared by a panel headed by Manmohan Singh on the basis of the manifestos of secular parties. But Congress sources engaged in the discussions said there shouldn't be a problem bridging the gap in three areas --- labour reforms, food security and disinvestment.
{{/usCountry}}There were conflicting versions from the two camps on the progress of talks on the draft common minimum programme (CMP) prepared by a panel headed by Manmohan Singh on the basis of the manifestos of secular parties. But Congress sources engaged in the discussions said there shouldn't be a problem bridging the gap in three areas --- labour reforms, food security and disinvestment.
{{/usCountry}}Even on the question of participation in the government, there was no formal word from the Left parties. The CPI(M)'s politburo, which met on Saturday, was reportedly divided on the issue with members from Kerala and West Bengal opposing any power-sharing arrangement with the Congress.
A meeting convened by Sonia on Sunday with her pre-poll allies will be followed by a larger gathering of like-minded parties including the Left. While there is tremendous pressure by CPI(M)'s H.S. Surjeet to include Mulayam Singh's party in the government, the issue hasn't yet been clinched. There is lot of resistance within the Congress to the idea of cohabiting with the SP at the Centre in the face of the strong need to build its own base in Uttar Pradesh. Mulayam's refusal to have a CMP in UP or his decision to field candidates in MP and Maharashtra haven't gone down well with the Congress. In fact, the NCP, which saw the SP cutting into its votes in Maharashtra, also isn't quite enamoured by the idea of having Mulayam on board.
For the record, however, AICC general secretary Ambika Soni said the Congress hadn't shut its "doors or windows'' on any like-minded party wanting a share in power.
At Sunday's meeting, a name will be chosen for the coalition. In all probability, it will reflect the participants' common secular commitment. The allies may also decide whether there was a need for a coordination panel as a consultative mechanism.
Over the weekend, the Congress leadership hopes to receive letters of support from all poll allies and other supporters. The RJD, for instance, is expected to hand in its letter of support on Sunday.