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by Political Correspondent

The Atal Behari Vajpayee Government, smarting under the reverses it faced during the last Assembly elections in four states which turned out to be a referendum of sorts on the performance of his government, has now taken the easiest way out of a situation; he has resorted to bravado. By appointing three new ministers when there was no justifiable need for even one of them, he has sent out a strong signal that he is not willing to give up and in fact, is even willing to sacrifice the interests of some of his close lieutenants.

The induction of Pramod Mahajan, Jaswant Singh and Jagmohan as new ministers when the entire country is talking of the time when this government is going to give way to another is becoming not only a laughing stock for the people but could eventually turn out to be a national shame. But Mr Vajpayee is unfazed and is not willing to listen to good advice. The CPI(M) as well as other national Opposition parties have given the right call for an alternative government but the Prime Minister, obviously egged on by the advice of his top leaders, have chosen this time to expand his Council of Ministers.This could be an exercise in futility and show of gamesmanship. But true success and leadership are not made up of overkill and dramatics.

It is not as if though that Mr Vajpayee and his party will not face the music; they will, and sadly, it might come in the worst form from within the party itself. The former chief minister of Delhi, Sushma Swaraj, who was made chief minister obviously for other reasons than good governance, has now understood that she had been used as a pawn and forced to give up her Union Ministerial berth before the elections. She has now promptly given up her legislative post from Delhi and has indirectly threatened Mr Vajpayee with a revolt of sorts. The other contender for the chief ministerial post of Delhi which he was forced to give up for Ms Swaraj before the elections, Mr Sahib Singh Varma, is waiting in the wings and like all other political vultures, waiting for the final strike till the prey dies. Mr Vajpayee refuses to admit defeat. But the country will ensure, even if his party leaders do not, that he concedes victory to others. Sooner or later.

The Congress, led by Ms Sonia Gandhi, is on the other hand, strangely though, refusing, on its own part, to play out its game. Ms Gandhi has been given a handsome mandate but she is refusing to act on it, giving Mr Vajpayee a longer rope to hang this nation with. May be, she is nervous, maybe she is plain scared about taking on the responsibility of governing as vast a nation as India. But that is not correct leadership. Ms Gandhi should be in a position now to count the numbers and strike even as the nation waits with bated breath to experience the ruin of a country in the hands of the saffron Nazis.

It is not as if there are no friends for the Congress who can help the party in forming a Government in order to save the nation. In politics, as much as in the welfare of a nation, there can be no final prognosis; the ultimate aim should be the common good. It is this common good that Ms Gandhi, even at the risk of taking a major chance with her political role and image, should keep in mind before making up her mind. But that decision should not come too late.

The Assembly elections have told us clearly what the nation wants. It is time that we woke up to reality and kept out petty politics out of the gameplan to save the nation.