New governments, old faces

Om Prakash Chautala in Haryana and Naveen Patnaik in Orissa assert their parties' dominance over the BJP in the new governments; in Manipur, Nipamacha Singh cobbles together a coalition government.

T.K. RAJALAKSHMI KALYAN CHAUDHURI

WHEN Om Prakash Chautala took the oath as Chief Minister for the fifth time on March 2, it was a foregone conclusion that his electoral ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, would not join his government. More so after State BJP leaders, including party pres ident O.P. Grover, alleged that the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had sabotaged the BJP's chances in at least 13 constituencies where the BJP had contested. The hike in fertilizer prices proposed by the Centre had further soured relations between the BJ P and the INLD: Chautala and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu voiced their unhappiness about it as both were to face local body elections soon.

With prominent BJP leaders out of the reckoning, the emerging political situation clearly favoured Chautala. It was apparent that if at all the INLD fell short of a clear majority, Chautala would have considered it more prudent to rope in the 11 independ ents rather than rely on the BJP which had not very long ago dumped the Bansi Lal Government after being a partner in it for more than three years. Also, the public bickering over seat-sharing in the run-up to the elections, and a totally uncoordinated c ampaigning during elections, drew the alliance partners further apart. The election results which put the INLD in the driver's seat with 47 of the 61 seats contested, left no one in doubt about the new status of the BJP in the State.

With the BJP hardly in a position to be a threat to his government, Chautala has more than enough reasons to rest on his laurels for some time. However, to play it safe with his unhappy ally, which received a severe drubbing in the Assembly elections, an d perhaps to reassure it of his backing at the Centre, Chautala declared that the INLD would support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) if the need arose, during the crisis that arose in the wake of the Gujarat Government's order lifting the ban on g overnment employees' participation in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

SIGNALLING his party's dominance in the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition, Orissa's new Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has retained most of the plum portfolios for BJD Ministers.

The 25-member BJD-BJP Ministry was sworn in on March 5, the birth anniversary of Biju Patnaik, the late Janata Dal leader and father of Naveen Patnaik. Shortly after the swearing-in, the Ministers attended a ceremony to unveil the statue of Biju Patnaik at a newly built hotel in Bhubaneswar, owned by Union Minister Dilip Ray.

Naveen Patnaik refused to appoint a Deputy Chief Minister from the BJP, possibly to avoid a power struggle in the future. He retained 16 berths for his party and gave the BJP the remaining nine. The three-tier Council of Ministers comprises 15 Cabinet Mi nisters, six Ministers of State with independent charge, and four Ministers of State. Ten Cabinet Ministers, including the Chief Minister, belong to the BJD and five to the BJP. Each of the allies have three Ministers of State with independent charge. Th e BJD has three Ministers of State and the BJP one.

Former State BJP president Bimbadhar Kunar, who aspired for the post of Deputy Chief Minister, was upset at being made a Minister of State with the inconsequential portfolio of Labour and Employment. "We have not got a fair deal. Except for Revenue, and Urban and Rural development, the departments allocated to us are insignificant," a senior BJP functionary said.

IN Manipur, the ruling Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) led by Wahengham Nipamacha Singh is back in the saddle with a jumbo Ministry, the biggest ever in the State. The MSCP, which together with its ally the Federal Party of Manipur (FPM) fought the e lections as the United Front of Manipur (UFM), secured 29 seats in the 60-member House. Nipamacha Singh, who has the support of legislators belonging to smaller groups, has formed a 34-member Council of Ministers, in which 22 of the 23 MSCP MLAs and five of the six FPM MLAs found berths. Three of the four breakaway Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs, two of the three breakaway Manipur People's Party (MPP) legislators, a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA and a woman independent member who supported the c oalition Ministry have also been inducted.

The stability of the Ministry remains uncertain with the NCP and the MPP submitting expulsion notices to the Assembly Secretariat in the case of MLAs who defected from the parties and supported the MSCP-FPM Government even before they were sworn in as M LAs.