Bowing to the demands made by prospective allies before the confidence vote on July 22, the UPA government is set to dedicate Lucknow?s Amausi airport in the name of Chaudhary Charan Singh, former prime minister and father of RLD chief Ajit Singh.
The Union Cabinet is expected to clear the proposal to rename Lucknow airport on Thursday, which obviously has made it to the Cabinet agenda after confirmed assurance from the RLD (three MPs) that they will be voting with the UPA during the confidence vote.
The move, however, suggests that the announcement will only be among the first of the several ??requests?? in the whishlist of new friends who have assured their backing to the nuclear agreement but in a ??give and take?? deal. A senior government functionary on Wednesday conceded that a number of demands were being made by smaller groups and individual groups whose support has become critical for the government, though he maintained that the process of negotiations was still on. He, however, said the demands, at this stage were regional in nature, linked to the politics in their areas of influence.
The JMM (with five MPs) in particular, is understood to be playing hard to get, refusing to give a commitment inspite of several interlocutors having got in touch with party chief Shibu Soren. While it seems that the interlocutors have already signalled that the JMM chief would get the coal portfolio which he held earlier back, Soren is refusing to coming out openly and back the UPA. Among other things, party circles have indicated that Soren is also wanting a change of chief ministership in Jharkhand.
The JD(S) led by former prime minister HD Devegowda (with three MPs) is also keeping his cards close to his chest. Officially, he has announced that a decision would be taken on July 18 in Bangalore, but in backroom negotiations, he is demanding a larger playing field in Karnataka. The former prime minister has squarely put the blame for the JD(S) defeat in Karnataka on Congress leader SM Krishna and is demanding that he be kept out of the state in the next Lok Sabha elections.
The RLD too, besides the renaming of the Lucknow airport, is also angling for a cabinet berth for party chief Ajit Singh.
Others smaller players like the TRS too have imposed stringent conditions in the form of a categoric announcement in favour of Telengana. Similarly, the independent MLA from Assam, S Bwiswamuthiary, too has sought an assurance on creation of separate Bodoland state. Government managers said this evening that such demands may not be met.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is hosting a dinner for UPA allies as well as prospective allies on July 20, is also meeting representatives of smaller parties besides individual MPs. The expectation is that matters will crystallise in the last two days before the trust vote.