Party's faction leader H D Deve Gowda had to suffer a loss of face, having started the whole thing on a ego trip. It is likely that he will brag that he has been wounded, but not defeated and that his time will come.

Party president Sharad Yadav, poor on communication skill, claimed that the development on Friday where the leadership issue, trial of strength and secret ballot were avoided, said it was not ceasefire but a concrete decision to strengthen the party. Vague words which does not mean much.

What is in store in a month or two is several compromise moves by Patel to appease the dissidents, carry on the team and face general elections, an year away.

Patel friends speak about the restructure of the ministry and the party as a necessary political move. This meant axing few ofhis own trusted colleagues in the Cabinet to make way for Gowda supporters in the Cabinet. He may also drop some of the ministers belong to Gowda camp on the grounds of inefficiency. Replacing his secretary and party president may also have to be carried out.

But the clinching factor that decided in favour of Patel on Friday was the clear writing on the wall that Gowda simply do not have enough supporters. The 47 legislators who greeted Gowda at his residence at Padmanabhanagar in the last week of October, his first visit after the banner of dissent raised by Gowda's son Kumaraswamy on behalf of his father, reduced to 30 within days. It got reduced further on Friday morning to 26, hours before the JDLP meeting.

Everyone of these who switched over to Patel's camp did it for one reason: they want to remain in power for one more year. Everyone of them were unsure of getting elected again.

Also crucial was the factor that Gowda had no supporters in the party's national executive. I K Gujral, Bapu Kaldate,Surendra Mohan, Jaipal Reddy, Bommai and Patel are all on one side with Yadav and Paswan being neutral, isolating Gowda.

Most of them were in contact with Patel and Yadav on phone on Thursday night and assured support to Patel. When Patel's supporters on Friday morning were in a mood to exhibit their strength in the JDLP meeting, it was these senior leaders from Delhi who made Patel assure them that he will not go for a showdown in the JDLP meeting.

Gowda betrayed his intentions when he made sarcastic remarks on the delegation of 35 ministers and about thirty legislators, sent by Patel on a peace mission. Gowda said they would not have come to him with a plea to save the government if he had not raised the banner of revolt. All that Gowda desired was a gesture hinting acceptance by them and a few words to reinstate the feeling that his clout still runs in the state.

A dissident leader said that dissident camp might have lost the first round but helped the government and the party to get out of a deepstupor. Through the crisis, the media glare on the unending vague statements and counter statements, the party and the government made its existence felt. It's now time to prove that it is alive and kicking.