A Renegade exits

Given his stoic nature, it is unlikely that the Prime Minister will lose his sleep over the resignation of Arjun Singh from the Government. For, he may reason that the exit of his arch rival will only make for a more cohesive functioning of his ministerial team. And given the lack of endorsement of his precipitate action by fellow Congressmen, Rao will hope, Singh will soon be reduced to a non-entity in the party as well. Probably if the Prime Minister and Congress President thought alone above lines he would not be far off the mark. For, Singh, consumed by prime ministerial ambition, has been a thorn in Rao's side right from the day the party plumped for him to lead it in the wake of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. Admittedly, it is no crime to nurse ambition to become prime minister, especially when you are a senior politician. But it will be foolhardy for one to try to achieve that ambition while lacking the main prerequisite for it, viz support of the ruling MPs. Singh might have grabbed headlines across the nation with his resignation, but that is a poor substitute for the support of his own partymen which he totally lacks.

Hard-nosed Congressmen are unlikely to fall for his line that his resignation is meant to strengthen the party. Now how do you revive the Congress while undermining the position of its president. For sure, Singh has struck against Rao while he is still recovering from the electoral shockwaves from the South.