NEW DELHI, July 25: The selection of a Vice Presidential candidate took an interesting turn with the extended meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) suggesting that only a ``consistently loyal Congress leader'' should be selected for the post and Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral throwing his weight behind Andhra Pradesh Governor Krishan Kant.

The principle of a ``consistently loyal'' Congressman who never deserted the party was raised at the meeting by Rajesh Pilot and some others. They said that loyalty to the party and a clean image should be the criterion. This was objected to by R K Dhawan as he saw in it a design to eliminate some of the possible contenders for the post.

Since Pranab Mukherjee, Rajasthan Governor Bali Ram Bhagat and Margret Alva had deserted the Congress during the 1977-78 crisis, this clause would render them ineligible during the selection process.

Dhawan felt that the decision should be left to Congress president Sitaram Kesri. Sharad Pawar had already said at the outset that Kesri should be authorised to talk to the United Front (UF) to select the candidate. But the meeting in general endorsed the view that the person should have been consistently loyal to the party. Kesri was disinclined to accept this authority and made it clear that the CWC should take a decision in the matter. Sources close to him say that he does not want to get involved personally into the matter although he was in favour of the post going to a Congress leader.

He had been advocating the cause of women, Dalits, minorities and youth to revive the Congress. He was inclined to accommodate Baliram Bhagat who had been a Speaker of the Lok Sabha and belongs to a backward caste. But as he hails from Bihar, Kesri would not like to be seen as espousing the cause of a fellow Bihari.

Secondly, Kesri himself is a backward and is keen on occupying the Prime Minister's gaddi. So he probably may disapprove of a Vice Presidential candidate who can someday upset his modest cart of aspirations. Meanwhile, the UF's core committee which met here this afternoon, authorised Gujral, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Communist Party Marxist (CPM) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet to talk to the Congress on the issue. The Front has mentioned no names for the post yet.

However, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A B Bardhan said after the meeting that ``clean image and experience to conduct the proceedings in the House will be important criterion''.

The fact that the Front named Gujral, Naidu and Surjeet to select Vice President's candidate reflected the differences in the UF. This is a clear break from the time when Naidu used to don the armour on behalf of the UF to fight with the Congress. Gujral was keen on Krishna Kant who was a Congress man till the seventies. But the Congress is finding it difficult to accept him and the Left and other regional parties are also not interested in him.

Some of the Front leaders are backing Rabi Ray, vice chairman of the Planning Commission; Madhu Dandavate and a handful of others.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.