Old timers admit that it is a difficult task to run a coalition government. Most of the partners have come together for the single purpose of sharing power. The Congress never believed in coalition experiment and is yarning to rule on its own. What is the common ground between the NCP, or the Trinamool Congress or the DMK? All of them are regional parties trying to satisfy the regional aspirations while the Congress is the national party. Ironically some of the partners like the NCP and the TMC are the offsprings of the Congress and out of sheer political compulsions came together. Unlike the UPA 1, the UPA 2 does not even have a common minimum programme

The Congress has learnt the hard way to close its eyes to whatever its allies do. During the UPA 1, it had difficulty in getting rid of the JMM chief Shibu Soren. In the UPA 2, the Prime Minister is unable to control his ministers like Azhagiri or Raja or even Mamata Banerjee.

The Congress, being the largest party, has the responsibility to run the government smoothly. The problem for Manmohan Singh is three- fold. The first is that the real power rests with the Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Singh is only the nominated Prime Minister. Sonia Gandhi wants to keep her image in tact while it is Singh who faces the music.

Secondly, he is in no position to deal with the ministers chosen by the allies, as they are not under his control. That is why he could not get rid of ministers like the Communication minister A. Raja despite allegations of a telecom scam.

Thirdly, the budget session began with the Congress losing two of its allies — the Samajwadi Party and the RJD on the issue of women reservation bill. There are some who question the wisdom of bringing it even before the Finance bills were passed. The result is that the government now has a fragile number of just 271. Without the support of the left and the right it would not have got the women bill passed in the Rajya Sabha and without the support of the BSP, the government would have collapsed on the Finance bill. Neither the Congress nor Singh have the luxury of annoying the allies. While the Congress was prompt in getting rid of Shashi Tharoor, it has distanced itself from other senior ministers like Pawar or Raja leaving it to the Prime Minister to deal with them.

What is the real problem between the Congress and its allies? The Congress wants to gain back its lost space while the allies want to expand at the cost of the Congress. This inherent contradiction is the root cause of the frictions between the NCP or the TMC or even the DMK even though they are together at the centre. More over, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal go for Assembly polls next year where the Congress is a minor partner.

The Congress and the NCP have had a love-hate relationship despite ten years of coalition politics both at the centre and states like Maharashtra, Goa and Meghalaya. Last year's Assembly and Lok Sabha elections have shown how the two try to weaken each other. The recent IPL controversy has brought the two NCP ministers Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel into focus. On the issue of spiraling price rise, the Congress party made the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar the fall guy. Then came the telephone tapping controversy where the government was pilloried for allegedly tapping Sharad Pawar's phone. Although the government played it down, the frictions remain.

The TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's mercurial behavior often provokes the local Congress leaders. With the Assembly elections scheduled for next year, the Congress is unable to deal with the tantrums of Didi. Mamata has managed to get the State Congress working president Subroto Mukherji to TMC, which is a blow to the Congress. The Kolkata corporation elections will be an acid test for their future relationship. But the bottom line is that both know that Mamata needs the Congress to become the chief minister and the Congress needs the TMC to improve its tally.

The DMK-Congress relationship is also peculiar. The communication minister Raja continues because the DMK patriarch Karunanidhi protects him and has made it clear that he has to stay or else. Singh can do nothing as getting rid of Raja means losing power for himself as well as the party. Karunanidhi's family problems are visiting the government, as he is unable to deal with his succession plan and divide power between his children Stalin, Azhagiri and Kanimozhi.

Secondly, Assembly polls are due next year and Karunanidhi wants to advance it to the end of this year. Local Congress leaders are unhappy that despite the Congress support the DMK has not included the Congress MLAs in his ministry. If Rahul Gandhi has his way, the Congress would like to go it alone in the elections while the arithmetic says alliance with a Dravidian party would earn better dividends. There are some in the Congress who would like to align with the AIADMK.

Political parties look to their interests first. However, the overriding principle is power and all the stake- holders know this. But no one is in doubt about the future of the UPA, as the frictions will not reach a breaking point. (IPA Service)