MOSCOW. July 6: Russian President Boris Yeltsin's supporters in parliament seeking to keep up momentum after the election victory over Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. have launched a bid to form an anti-Communist front in parliament, reports Reuter.

As world leaders showered congratulations on the Kremlin leader and concerns over Yeltsin's health faded into the background, attention switched to the harsh post election realities of a divided country beset with social and economic problems.

Prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin's government met on Friday to discuss its challenges. especially improving tax collection to avoid a budget crisis. "The government must work calmly," he said;

But political intrigue started

afresh at the State Duma (lower chamber of Parliament) where tire pro-Yeltsin Our Home is Russia faction an nounced that it planned to form an alliance with other centrist and liberal groups.

But it was not clear if they would be able to muster enough votes to counter the powerful Communists and their allies.

Zyuganov's leftist coalition of National Patriotic Forces was due to discuss its post.-• election strategy on Saturday.

The bloc failed to get its man into the Kremlin but could still prove troublesome on the legislative front. However. the Duma has relatively little power under Russia's constitution and may not have the stomach to . take on the recharged Yeltsin.

Our Home is Russia leader

Sergei Belyavyev said they might even try to replace Communist Duma chairman Gennady Seleznyov.

But one potential coalition partner, the centrist Russian Regions faction, opposed any such attempt to oust Seleznyov.

"We have never set ourselves the goal of replacing the Speaker.

Interfax news agency quoted Belyavyev as saying he was counting on security more ’ than half of the votes in the Chamber.

But it was not clear where these votes would come from. It seemed likely that the coalition would depend on support from Vladimir Zhirinovsky's ultra nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and a substantial number of independent deputies.