Taking advantage of the decline in the stock of the Congress in the wake of various corruption cases, and the pressure under which the party has been brought by the Anna Hazare movement, important UPA sections, Union agriculture minister and Nationalist Congress Party boss Sharad Pawar in particular, have scathingly criticised the UPA’s linchpin. The DMK’s T.R. Balu has also chipped in. A DMK representative is unlikely to make critical observations unless asked to do so by party supremo M. Karunanidhi.
The NCP and DMK have reasons to be unhappy. The Congress has been continually sniping at the NCP in Maharashtra, the only state in which that party matters, seeking to take advantage of any dip in Mr Pawar’s fortunes. This is hardly a worthwhile strategy, for the Congress is in no position to defeat the Shiv Sena-BJP combine on its own. The NCP responds with stings of its own when it can. As for the DMK, its leader is especially aggrieved ever since his daughter Kanimozhi, a Rajya Sabha MP, was sent to jail under a court order in the 2G affair. Other than outright criticism by the NCP and DMK, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who is now West Bengal’s chief minister, recently made India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress look inept and helpless when she declined to back the proposed Teesta accord with Bangladesh. None of these parties is in a position to leave the Congress-led alliance, as they would then be rendered vulnerable on their home turf. The DMK is already quite poorly placed. This is why the Prime Minister could confidently say that he has had no difficulty from allies in running the government.
He must be aware, nevertheless, that sharp public criticism from within a ruling alliance is made when the leading party of the combine is seen as having shed its earlier weight. Indeed, Mr Pawar cited just this reason why the courts have lately begun to pull up the government on a frequent basis. He also made policy criticisms on the subsidies issue. The NCP leader is right about the Congress losing its shine. Not surprisingly, since he is the man in charge, Mr Pawar did not speak of the exceptionally high food prices as being one of the reasons for the government’s present plight. The point, however, is that the allies are trying to give the Congress a whipping in order to pre-position themselves, particularly if the general election — due in 2014 — is advanced. They may well again ally with the Congress, but are also evidently exploring other options. In 2009, the NCP had tried to tie up with the Third Front but backed out of the caper.