Backed by Congress party, United Front to name Indian premier

April 18, 1997
Web posted at: 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT)

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- India's Congress party formally pledged its support of the ousted United Front coalition Friday, clearing the way for the formation of a center-left government.

Congress party leaders had already promised such support, but members of the United Front coalition had insisted on a formal pledge in the form of a letter to President Shankar Dayal Sharma.

The letter came after Sharma met Thursday night with leaders of the Congress, Communist and Bharatiya Janata parties -- all key players in the power struggle that has paralyzed the Indian government.

United Front officials are now working to select a new prime minister to replace caretaker Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. His replacement could be named as early as Friday night.

"We hope to complete the exercise soon, latest by this night or tomorrow morning," United Front spokesman Jaipal Reddy told reporters Friday after a meeting of alliance leaders chaired by Gowda.

The coalition had hoped to name a successor Thursday, but that decision was postponed after the death of one of its senior leaders, Biju Patnaik, 81.

The front-runners to replace Gowda are G.K. Moopanar, a regional power broker, and Foreign Minister Inder Kuman Gujral.

Gowda's 10-month-old government collapsed after losing a parliamentary no-confidence vote on April 11 following the Congress party's decision to withdraw support of his 13-party coalition last month. Congress accused Gowda of backing Hindu revivalists and blamed his economic policies for rampant unemployment and rising prices.

Political analysts had said the Congress party, which has governed India for all but five of its 50 years, would most likely support the United Front because neither party wants a popular vote, which would probably benefit the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP -- the largest party in the legislature -- has been gaining strength in each of the last three elections.

Reuters contributed to this report.

CNN Special Section:

• Pivotal Elections: India

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• India's government crisis could end soon - April 14, 1997
• Political parties jockey for power in India - April 12, 1997
• India's Congress demands Gowda resignation - April 10, 1997
• In India: Political war of nerves - April 3, 1997
• Indian prime minister wins time to prove majority - March 31, 1997

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