UPA MLAs wait for nod to form Govt

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Tuesday, June 23, 2009

In a rare show of unity, the MLAs of Jharkhand UPA and independents, reached New Delhi on Monday to urge top Congress leaders to pave way for the formation of government in the State.

However, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi does not seem to be in this favour.The State UPA leaders have taken the Rajya Sabha election results as an indication of UPA's unity and a mandate to form Government in the State.

Rahul Gandhi finds no immediate benefit in this exercise. "He is more focused upon the organisational overhauling of Jharkhand Congress rather than forming a Government with such shaky arguments," a senior party leader told on telephone from New Delhi.

The central high command of the UPA has asked Jharkhand Congress president Pradeep Balmuchu to present a roadmap of how forming an alliance Government in Jharkhand would help the party in the forthcoming Assembly elections. While two of the front runners for the post of Chief Minister —Balmuchu and Assembly Speaker Alamgir Alam — have been camping in New Delhi, the UPA legislators moved to New Delhi on Monday to push for the same.

The newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs from Jharkhand — Hemant Soren of the JMM and Dhiraj Kumar Sahu of the Congress — reached New Delhi on Monday. Before leaving for New Delhi, Soren made a courtesy visit to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi.Talking to the media, Soren expressed hope that the Government will soon be formed in the State and both the Congress and JMM leaders will resolve the leadership issue.

But the resolution passed by the working committee of the State RJD demanding Assembly election has created a tantalising obstacle for the same. So far, the UPA MLAs could not meet any of the central Congress leaders, including Ahmed Patel, the political advisor to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Rao is also expected to go Brazil this month and the MLAs camping here will hardly find their audience on an urgent basis. "We are trying to break the ice. It will take at least 10 days to reach the final conclusion whether to form Government or not," a Congress MLA camping in New Delhi told The Pioneer.

Everybody in the UPA is eagerly waiting for Sonia Gandhi to return from her foreign trip within two days to deliberate on the vexed issue.