Saturday, Aug 10, 2002
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Karnataka
By S.Rajendran
Sources in the "Janata Parivar" told The Hindu here on Friday that the political strategy and machinations of Mr. Hegde, who in the recent past has been in touch with the top BJP and Congress leadership, have generated confusion, more so as he was not seeing eye-to-eye with the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda. Mr. Hegde has made it clear to Mr. Bommai that under no circumstances would he be interested in talking to Mr. Deve Gowda. The BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, is likely to call on Mr. Hegde on Sunday. Given the mood in the Hegde camp, it is said, in all likelihood the Janata Dal(U) under the leadership of Mr. Hegde would possibly swing in favour of aligning with the Congress rather than with the Janata Dal(S) or even with the BJP despite the Janata Dal(U) president and Union Minister, Sharad Yadav, still being associated with the National Democratic Alliance. The earlier aim of Mr. Hegde was to first strengthen the Janata Dal(U) before deciding on a poll tie-up with secular parties. This strategy has, however, been altered following bickering among the Janata Dal(U) legislators who have been seeking a merger with the Janata Dal(S). The sources said that the tremendous pressure on Mr. Hegde to opt for a merger with the Janata Dal(S) compelled him to involve Mr. Bommai in the dialogue as he could not hold discussions with Mr. Deve Gowda. Though Mr. Bommai now holds the key in evolving the merger formula to the satisfaction of both Mr. Hegde and Mr. Deve Gowda, it is unlikely that the two leaders will agree to the formula to be worked out by Mr. Bommai, given the animosity between them. Reports have it that the Congress is trying to woo Mr. Hegde as the merger of the Dal factions will spell trouble to not only the BJP but also to the Congress in the State. It was in this context that the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, called on Mr. Hegde at the latter's residence two days ago and was closeted with him for more than an hour. Mr. Krishna is believed to have carried a message apparently at the instance of the Congress high command. The Chief Minister is likely to meet Mr. Bommai, the sources added. Interestingly, Mr. Yadav, accompanied by the liquor baron and Rajya Sabha member, Vijay Mallya, arrived in the City on Friday and met Mr. Hegde. It was said that Mr. Mallya was keen on taking over an important position in the Janata Dal(U). Mr. Yadav was here to ascertain the stand of Mr. Hegde, particularly after the latter's meetings with Mr. Krishna and Mr. Bommai, the sources said. During his recent trip to Bangalore, Mr. Yadav made it clear that the merger proposal was not before him. In other words, there could not be any merger unless the National Council of the Janata Dal(U) approved the proposal. Meanwhile, the second-line Janata Dal(U) leaders, most of them who were Ministers in the Deve Gowda and Patel Cabinets in the State, are confident of clinching a merger, at least before the next election. It was the legislators who have had a say on the proposed merger all these days.
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