No wonder, Basu's own comrades have been left hopelessly bemused by his statement that he would be happy to see the Congress win the next elections and that the CPI(M)would gladly support any Congress regime. This, after the 113-year-old party has gone to great lengths over the past year to quietly snub every overture from the Communists; in fact, in recent days this enigmatic silence has given way to Congressmen emphatically declaring that the era of coalition politics is over. So, why this sudden desperation? Could it be the BJP-led coalition's show of strength in the Lok Sabha on the invocation of Article 356 in Bihar? Yet, this very dismissal of the Rabri Devi government has been cause for cheer in the Left's ever-enduring efforts to revive the higgledy-piggledy Third Force. With all prospective constituents of the Third Force joining ranks on the issue and indulging in a show of solidarity at a convention in Delhi on February 20, Basu's fresh entreaties to the Congress are bound to cause some confusion in their ranks. This is especially so for groups like the Samajwadi Party, which is distinctly apprehensive about losing its votebanks to the Congress. In fact, eventhe CPI(M)'s Kerala unit is avowedly sceptical about the wisdom of wholeheartedly supporting any Congress government for it knows it will only play into the hands of the BJP which is keen on opening its account in the State Assembly. Interestingly, Basu's appeals to the Congress have been echoed by CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet. Obviously, divisions in Left circles over courting the Congress are as strong as ever.

But perhaps it's a measure of the times that these political subtleties have been overtaken by a tabloidish zest for a good old spat. BJP leaders have gleefully picked up the gauntlet and pronounced that Basu has lost his mental balance. And even as Basu merrily retorts that he does not mind being sent to a psychiatrist, he has given the ruling party a welcome chance to dwell on Communist doublespeak -- whether on its blow-hot-blow-cold affair with Laloo Prasad Yadav or on the secular credentials of the Congress. It's time Jyoti Basu stopped acting like a spoilt child andstarted behaving like the leader of stature he was once acknowledged as.