Brinkmanship in politics does not pay. India is learning it in a hard way.

The United Front government of Deve Gowda, a combination of regional parties, and Congress joined hands 10 months ago to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party, the largest in the Lok Sabha, out of power. But lately the two have been indulging in shadow boxing to prove their individual power.

And this is how they have landed the country into a political crisis.

The United Front, led by Prime Minister Deve Gowda, has a strength of 188 in a 545-member Lok Sabha. Congress has 140. While the United Front has ruled. Congress has supported it from outside.

Congress now feels that it must snare power. The United Front is willing to give it some posts in the cabinet. But

Congress president Sitaram Kesri, who met the President of India the other day to withdraw his party's support, wants Congress to lead the coalition. This is not acceptable to the United Front. And hence the problem.

Efforts are afoot on how to arrive at a compromise. Both realise that if they do not come to terms, they may have to face a mid-term poll, which they want to avoid.

The Marxists, who also support the government from outside. feel that a formula can be found to accommodate the two.

But the difficult part is the selection of prime minister. Congress wants a person other than Deve Gowda.

Had Jyoti Basu, the Marxist leader, been available, the crisis would have been over.

But his party does not want him to accept the position, al-

though he himself would like to head the government. It looks as if the choice may fall on a person other than Deve Gowda and Kesri. And he may well be G K Moopanar. heading a breakaway Congress group in Tamil Nadu. This solves the crisis but provides no answer to the problem to the long term stability.