If a wolf falls into a pit every passer - by throws a stone at it. The UPA Government was, till now, as fearless as a wolf. But, alas, things have changed. The UPA Government finds itself in a hell of a trouble! Those who lent it support seem to be withdrawing it. They are said to be ready to pull the rug from under the Government anytime! The UPA was cobbled together in a hurry because its constituents and the communists wanted to prevent the BJP from usurping power. The communists have no love for the Congress either. Their policy is to be equidistant from both the Congress and the BJP. But they thought that at the moment the Congress was a lesser evil than the BJP. Therefore, they promised to lend support to the UPA Government from outside.

Strange bed – fellows:
Necessity makes strange bed - fellows. But the communists did not join hands with the Congress. They are very clever people. The party outside is more powerful than when it is inside. Every act of the UPA Government had to get the tacit approval of the Leftists. They had (and have) no responsibility in running the Government. But if they do not like a policy of the Government, they may reject it out right saying that it does not come within the purview of the Common Minimum Programme agreed by them. The Leftists outside the Government became more powerful than the constituents inside! This amounted to be deadlier than the notorious “veto” power vested in the hands of the permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations, particularly in the days of the cold war between the two power-blocks of the world!

It is a pity that at every step the Government has to consult the Leftists before taking any drastic action. The very essence of the Cabinet Government in a Parliamentary democracy was lost and the role of the Prime Minister (and his Cabinet colleagues) became ridiculous. The Prime Minister is said to be the senior among equals and decisions are to be taken with greatest secrecy and discussion at the Cabinet meetings. All those delicate and beautiful conventions were thrown to the winds. The Cabinet form of Government had to bargain at every step with the outside power with no responsibility. May be, their intentions were good. But in practice it amounted to riding roughshod on the smooth working of Cabinet.
Added to this the Parliament itself came to suffer under the machinations of political hot-heads. A handful of members could raise a hue and cry and descend to the well of the House shouting and prevent a piece of legislation from being passed. They could hold the Parliament itself to ransom and walk away with what they wanted!

Hostage of Leftists:
Now the Leftists have two hammers in their hands (in addition the hammer and sickle symbol) Indo - US nuclear deal and rising prices. The Government has become a hostage of the Leftists. With the prices piercing through the roof, the Leftists have begun to strike the head of the Government, with one hammer called the nuclear deal and the other hammer called rising prices. Will the Government survive? The abnormal rise in prices has undoubtedly nonplussed the Government. The prices are rising relentlessly and they are on the verge of becoming hyper- inflation! The poor classes are tottering. The Government is faltering. The nuclear issue may reach the critical stage. If the Government acts according to its plan and operationalises the US - India agreement, what will the Left parties do? They are categorically stating that they would hope that the UPA Government would serve its full term. If the Government takes courage in both hands and proceeds to implement it, will the Left parties withdraw their support?

No one can hazard an answer to this question. Every party is thinking about the elections that are due in May next year. They have to decide whether to continue the present arrangement till then or pull down the Government now or after a few months, say September or November. Which will profit them most, in the form of seats won? The Left parties are not in good shape now. They have power in three States. West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. If elections are held with UPA Government in power, their position will become very delicate. They cannot fight the elections against Congress when they are lending support to it at the Centre. They cannot be both allies and enemies. It is an embarrassing situation.

The Congress also is in two minds. Some say that it would not be wise to throw in the towel. It is hard to get back to power. Once you lose it, it may be hard or even impossible to get it again. The incumbency factor, abnormal rise in prices and such other reasons threaten them. There are others who say that trying to stay in power at any cost till the expiry of the full term would show the government in poor light. The Left parties have made the Congress appear to be shineless. The people may think that Congress is power-hungry and that it is surrendering to Leftists at every step. Even if Congress earnestly tries to satisfy the Left parties, and agrees to forgo the nuclear agreement, the Leftists have another hammer to beat the Congress. That is the abominable price situation. The communists are said to be the avowed votaries of the poor and the downtrodden and they may withdraw their support from outside. Instead of succumbing to their pressure, the Congress should boldly announce its policy of enlisting the American assistance for the Government's dire need of power.

Virulent campaign:
In such a situation, Congress will surely have a strong point in its favour, maintain these risk-takers. It may say that the Leftists are uncompromising and unreasonable. Though they always maintain they are not prepared to allow the Government to sell the country to capitalists, the Congress, on the other hand, may launch a virulent campaign that the Chinese communists have the remote control of the Indian Marxists. Chinese do not want to have a strong India as its neighbour. They would like to capitalize every opportunity to downgrade India. The doubting Thomases in the Congress party have their own fears. If the Congress opts for elections now or in September or November, the anti-incumbency factor may work against it. Inflation will rob them of their chance of winning. The NDA Government announced the elections before the expiry of its full term and paid a heavy penalty. So wait with patience. The United States may force a recession. World prices will crash. The inflationary situation will vanish. May 2009 is the most appropriate time for achieving success. “So be it”, say others. “Watch and wait” is the attitude of other parties.