Panday's brother neutral, will work with any UNC leader

Subhas Panday is not saying who he is supporting in the January 24, 2010 election of the United National Congress (UNC).

And the brother of UNC leader Basdeo Panday has pledged to work with whoever emerges as the party's leader.

So far it's a three-way race for the top post with Basdeo Panday up against challengers Ramesh L. Maharaj and Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Subhas Panday is boasting about his party's democracy saying he feels a sense of pride belonging to a party which upheld the highest tradition of democracy with its one-person-one-vote system to elect its leader and national executive.

“Anybody could win. And whoever wins, I will support them. The majority of the party’s members would determine who shall be the leader,” Panday told Newsday.

Panday is being careful this time. In 2000 he let the cat out of the bag when he announced that his brother, Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, was supporting Carlos John for deputy leader.

That incensed Maharaj, who had considered himself the "heir apparent". He went on to win the election against John and Kamla Persad-Bissessar but Panday never gave him the respect that came with the post.

Maharaj later revolted against Panday and together with MPs Trevor Sudama and Ralph Maraj he tried to make a deal with then opposition leader Patrick Manning to topple the Panday government.

The other Panday in Parliament, Oropouche West MP Mikela Panday, is supporting her father. Others who have stated publicly that they would support Panday include Kelvin Ramnath, Tim Gopeesingh, Roodal Moonilal and Hamza Rafeeq. Panday also has strong support from the UNC's senate team lead by Wade Mark.

If either Maharaj or Persad-Bissessar wins the internal election and becomes party leader there is no guarantee that they would get the support of a majority of MPs.

There are only four MPs who are not supporting Panday - the two who are running against him and Jack Warner and Winston Peters.

This would mean that Panday would remain opposition leader in the House while the party leader would run the affairs of the UNC outside of Parliament and sit as a member of the UNC caucus.