HOW to fit in the conflicting claims of various groups and parties in the jigsaw puzzle of the Congress-Akali-Unionist coalition is causing great headache to the Congress President, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. The Akali demand that they should be regarded as the only representative body of Sikh political opinion has been turned down by Sardar Patel….

The Congress Sikh MLAs who number 10, are reported to have threatened the Congress President not to yield before this “highly unjustified” demand. This has revived the negotiations between the Akalis and the Muslim League on the one hand and the Congress and the League on the other.

Sir Firoz Khan Noon, in an interview on Sunday night [March 3], said: “Our talks with the Congress and Akalis are progressing satisfactorily.” The political circles are critical about the Governor’s attitude in not having called upon any party to form the Ministry. It seems he is just biding time to see a Unionist-Akali-Congress coalition to be effected. The negotiations for the formation of a Congress-Akali-Unionist tripartite coalition which were started on Saturday did not make much headway….

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2021