The Hindu : Sangma sticks to stand

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 15, 2004

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Sangma sticks to stand

By Our Special Correspondent

The Nationalist Congress Party leader, Sharad Pawar, explains a point to his party colleague, P.A. Sangma, at the working committee meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday. — Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

NEW DELHI, JAN. 14. Even as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress inched closer to a tie-up ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, with the leaders of the two parties Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi slated to meet over tea tomorrow, the former Lok Sabha Speaker, Purno Sangma, refused to budge from his stand that the NCP should have no truck with the Congress.

The majority opinion within the NCP appeared to have prevailed with the working committee authorising the party chief, Sharad Pawar, to "take an appropriate decision" on the question of alliances.

However, according to sources, the issue generated considerable "heat" at the meeting, with Mr. Sangma and the Chhattisgarh unit president, V.C. Shukla, opposing a tie-up with the Congress.

While the party spokesman, Praful Patel, sought to gloss over the differences saying that the decision to authorise Mr. Pawar to initiate the process of choosing an ally as well as to go ahead with his meeting with Ms. Gandhi was unanimous, Mr. Sangma had a different interpretation of what had transpired.

No sooner had Mr. Patel completed briefing the media on the working committee's decision to authorise Mr. Pawar, Mr. Sangma had a different take on the issue. According to him, no decision had been taken and Mr. Pawar had merely been asked to talk to the leaders from the Northeast and Chhattisgarh on the objections raised by them.

Mr. Patel made it clear that there was no question of the party aligning with the NDA or entering into area-specific alliances with different parties. "We will be with the secular forces," he said. He did acknowledge that the two State units and Mr. Sangma had a different view on the matter. However, he repeatedly pointed to the fact that the resolution authorising Mr. Pawar had been passed unanimously, thereby suggesting that even the dissenters had ultimately relented.

The tone and tenor of Mr. Sangma's reaction after the meeting left little doubt that all that the party had managed to achieve today was to stave off a parting of ways with him. "I made my position absolutely clear at the meeting, my decision and position remain the same," Mr. Sangma told newspersons after the meeting.

Mr. Shukla reportedly made the point that having fought a bitter battle with the Congress in Chhattisgarh during the recent Assembly elections, it would be difficult to sell the alliance to the people.

However, senior NCP leaders are hopeful of bringing Mr. Shukla round.

Mr. Patel said that the proposed meeting between Mr. Pawar and Ms. Gandhi was expected to provide a fillip to the process of forming an alliance. "The dialogue that has been under way is bound to be carried forward by the two leaders," Mr. Patel said. He also indicated that the NCP would like to contest some seats outside Maharashtra as well.

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