Column: Ramesh might challenge Panday for UNC leadership

Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj might be getting ready for the biggest political gamble of his career - taking on Basdeo Panday for the leadership of the United National Congress (UNC).

The former attorney general has never gone this far but his political battles with Panday led to the fall of the UNC administration in 2001 within months of the party winning its first ever election against the People's National Movement (PNM).

That came after Maharaj and UNC cabinet ministers Trevor Sudama and Ralph Maraj walked away from Panday and held discussions with then opposition leader Patrick Manning in a bid to topple the government and install Manning as prime minister.

Panday pulled the rug from under their feet and asked President Robinson to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections, which led to the historic 18-18 tie and the installation of Manning as prime minister.

And the rest, as they, is history.

Maharaj had been unhappy with the way Panday was running things long before the 2001 election. And in the internal elections which saw his Team Unity taking control of the National Executive of the UNC, he slammed his own party's leadership for ignoring the needs of its constituents.

Panday grudingly installed Maharaj as Deputy Leader but never gave him the respect the post deserved, which only widened the growing rift between the two political heavweights.

By the time Panday announced the date of the 2001 general election Maharaj was ready for battle with Team Unity mounting a political challenge to the UNC.

Maharaj's purpose was never to win the election. He knew from the beginning that was an impossibility. What he set out to do an dwhat he achives was to cause signficant damage to Panday and the UNC.

He caused the UNC to lose the critical marginal seat of Tunapuna to give the PNM the extra seat for the 18-18 tie. Panday has never recovered from that although he has remained a powerful political force in the country.
After the loss of the 2002 general election, Panday reluctantly agreed to step aside and hand the leadership to Winston Dookeran who was seen as a strong uniting force with an untarnished image.

But that failed because Dookeran demanded dramatic changes immediately, which Panday, as party chairman, felt were too draconian. Dookeran, who had Jack Warner as his Deputy Leader, eventually walked away and formed the Congress of the People (COP) and Warner embraced Panday.
The near death experience of the UNC from the internal bickeing over Dookeran caused the defection of thousands of UNC loyalists to the COP. But Warner, Maharaj and a few others came together with Panday to stage an incredible political recovery that most political pundits had called impossible.

Once the UNC Alliance won 15 seats, the grumbling and bickering resumed, leading to the current Movement for Change led by Warner, which includes Maharaj and MP Winston "Gypsy" Peters.

That movement has caused former allies to draw political swords against each other. It is that demand for change that is driving Maharaj to consider a run for Panday's job.

Panday, of course, has not said if he will run in the election tenatively set for January 24, 2010 subject to final ratification by the party's national assembly.

But he has always said he responds to the people and if that is what they want, he'll run. Interesting, Warner has never said Panday should not run and he has never suggested that he would want the leader's job.

In fact he is on record as saying he would run for the post of Chairman, which Panday now holds in addition to the leadership. And Warner has awlays said if the people choose Panday - or anybody for that matter as the UNC leader - he will work with him.

There are several possible contenders, but few Panday loyalists will consider running against the "chief".

There have been calls for some of them to do it, particularly Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who is one of the UNC's deputy leaders.

She and Maharaj have never got along ever since Panday gave her the attorney general's post when he fired Maharaj in 2000 and subsequently appointed her as acting prime minister instead of Maharaj.

So it's possible that party insiders would push her to run if Maharaj tosses his hat in the ring. That would make an interesting race.

There is also Roodal Moonilal, who is bright and smart enough to keep his lips sealed on the fighting in the party. Deputy Chairman and St Augustine MP Vasant Bharath and Caroni East MP Tim Gopeesingh are all possible contenders.

But nobody is going to make the move if Panday is running.
Noboy except perhaps Maharaj, who is only "thinking" about it for now. He has been very vocal on the need for change and has insisted that in its present state the UNC cannot win an election.
But he is adamant that his fight to reform the party is not personal. "I do not regard this as a personal issue between Mr Panday and myself. I am prepared to take on the issues in the party to ensure that the party is put in a position to win a general election," he said in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian.

The leadership of the UNC is perhaps the most critical issue facing the masses who are opposed to the PNM and the Manning administration. It is clear that Manning has given disaffected citizens more than enough reasons for a change in government, but he remains strong because of the lack of a united opposition. Today there are three competing political forces that have the potential to become a single, powerful entity that can topple the PNM in a free and fair election. That's why settling the UNC leadership is front and centre in deciding whether opposition unity is possible. Panday still commands strong support among loyalists in the UNC heartland and has the backing of 11 of the elected opposition members. But there are strong divisions in the general membership about whether Panday should continue to lead. On the national level COP, which is the second major opposition party, has made it clear that it will never do business with the UNC with Panday as its leader.

That hard position is in conflict with democratic principles since it is insulting to tell the UNC membership it does not care about what they believe. They may very want want to elect Panday. Warner, who leads the Movement for Change, remains a member and Deputy Leader of the UNC and despite his sometimes open verbal clashes with Panday, remains respectful of his leader and recognizes his contribution to the nation.

And he has always been careful to predicate all his calls for change with a plegde to honour the wishes of the party's membership. No matter what happens in a UNC leadership vote, a fragmented opposition would be Manning's return ticket to Whitehall whenever he chooses to call an election, which could be much earlier that 2012. Maharaj is not well-loved in the UNC heartland and beating Panday in an election would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. That's why he is still being cautious. The only hope for the unity is for a reconciliation with the dissidents in the UNC in an arrangement that would recognize that Panday cannot disappear from the political scene.

At the same time Panday must accept that while his leaderhsip might guarantee a few heartland seats such a situation would do nothing to help the very dispossessed constituents he has represented for four decades. Panday must now behave like the statesman he can be and step aside as leader and let the party nominate and elect the best man or woman to represent the UNC. Armed with such a mandate the new UNC leader can then work to unite the opposition and challenge Manning and his PNM and win.

It means a break from business as usual. People like Panday, Maharaj or Dookeran continue to have powerful roles to play. But it is an insult to the nation to suggest that there is no one competent, smart enough and willing to serve as a national leader and the next Prime Minister. That person is waiting and the people are ready to make their choice.