The new leader of the United National Congress (UNC), Kamla Persad-Bissessar, is on Wednesday hosting the first Parliamentary caucus of the party since being elected political in the UNC's internal election on January 24.The meeting is to break the ice following a divisive campaign and to allow Persad-Bissessar to hear the various positions of members, some of whom have said they continue to pledge loyalty to former UNC leader Basdeo Panday.
Panday remains leader of the opposition while Persad-Bissessar has taken control of the Parliament and replaced the Panday-appointed Chief Whip, appointing new UNC chairman Jack Warner to the post.
Warner will be absent at Wednesday's meeting. He is in Zurich on official business and will return home in time for Friday's sitting of the House of Representatives. Panday had said previously that he would not attend the caucus.
Some MPs have asked the leader to use Wednesday's gathering for an open discussion on the matter of the leader of the opposition.
So far she does not have a majority to take over the post from Panday but she has said that is not a critically important matter since she can work with Panday while conducting the business of the party outside Parliament.
She currently has the support of Jack Warner, Harry Partap, Nizam Baksh and Winston Peters.
Roodal Moonilal, Vasant Bharath, Tim Gopeesingh, Hamza Rafeeq, Kelvin Ramnath, Ramesh L. Maharaj, Chandresh Sharma and the three Pandays have not said publicly if they would support the new leader.
One source very close to the executive told JYOTI the leader will have the support enough MPs by the end of the week and the matter would be resolved by then.
Another UNC source told JYOTI unless the party resolves the matter through discussion in an atmosphere where everyone is comfortable and feels welcome there is the risk of a divided opposition. He said this is the last thing the UNC needs and it goes against the campaign pledges made by the leader.
The source said some MPs other than the ones who are already supporting Persad-Bissessar are ready to throw their full support behind her but they are waiting to be invited to discuss the issue with her either on a one-on-one basis or collectively.
He warned that the approach must be a welcoming one rather than any attempt to "bully or blackmail" the MPs.
Wednesday's meeting is scheduled to begin at 3.30 in the afternoon at the party's headquarters at the Rienzi complex.
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