Battle for Indian coalition govt survival intensifies

As speculation mounted that the Congress leadership was willing to fulfil the wish-list of fence-sitters, Soren’s JMM (five MPs), Ajit Singh’s RLD (three MPs) and H D Deve Gowda’s JD-S (three MPs), were much sought after.

Indications available on Friday night raised the possibility of JMM supporting the government in exchange for Soren returning to the Union Cabinet as Coal Minister, a portfolio he lost after being convicted in a murder case in which he was subsequently acquitted.

While Soren himself said very little, JMM chief whip Teklal Mahtao went on record to say that all the five party MPs would vote for the government.

That did nothing to stop talk in political circles that the BJP was tempting him with an offer of chief ministership of Jharkhand.

Highly-placed sources said after a meeting of the Congress Core Group headed by Sonia Gandhi and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that there was no possibility of cabinet changes till July 22.

The Congress party was also rocked by dissidence from a backbencher Arvind Sharma from Haryana who attacked the party and the government for “targeting” BSP chief Mayawati and indicated he might vote against the trust motion.