New Delhi, Jan 12: It's unlikely the country's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, has ever been subjected to this kind of political jockeying since it was first instituted in 1954. As of now, the names of three political veterans are doing the rounds -- former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the grand old man of the CPI(M) Jyoti Basu, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

LK Advani had set the ball rolling in public by writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that Vajpayee be given the award. On Friday, AICC general secretary Veerappa Moily openly stated what had only be whispered so far - " the honour should be conferred on Basu".

Moily's demand failed to impress the Left parties. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury refused to comment on the issue saying nothing had been conveyed to his party. Another senior CPI(M) leader accused the government of floating Basu's name merely to spike Vajpayee's chances.

Moily's comments added to the growing speculation about the motives behind the demands from different quarters on the Bharat Ratna.

Advani's missive to the Prime Minister was viewed in some quarters as a move to prevent the government from announcing the award for Basu.

In the midst of the Left-Right tug-of-war, there is also talk of Karunanidhi's candidature. His party the DMK, which is a crucial ally of the UPA government, had made the demand last year. Now it has been revived, in the hope that in the tussle between the Left and the Right he will emerge as the winner. DMK sources believe that if the hardliners within the Left parties remain adamant about not allowing Basu to be honoured by a bourgeois government, the DMK chief stands "an excellent chance".

Senior Government sources have so far remained tight-lipped in the midst of all the political kite flying. "There is a laid down procedure that is scrupulously followed, and there is no question of deviating from it," says a high placed home ministry source. A committee in the home ministry sifts through the various contenders before short-listing names that are then placed before the Government, which in turn take a considered view before recommending them to the President.

So far 40 people, including two foreigners - Nelson Mandela and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan - have been conferred the honour. In recent times followers of PV Narasimha Rao, Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh, and recently Kanshi Ram have demanded that the award be conferred on them posthumously

Too early to decide: PM

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday brushed aside the controversy over the Bharat Ratna, saying it was "too early" to decide on the issue.

Answering a query at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis here Friday evening, the Prime Minister said: "It is too early. There is time to decide on the issue." He was asked to react to a letter written by Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani asking for the Bharat Ratna to be conferred on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Maya demands for Kanshi

Lucknow: BSP chief and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati, on Saturday demanded that BSP founder Kanshi Ram should be awarded the Bharat Ratna. She said that she was not opposed to Vajpayee or Jyoti Basu being given the prestigious award, but it would not be just if Kanshi Ram is overlooked. Mayawati went on to say that she would like her supporters and well wishers to give financial contribution to the party on the occasion of her birthday on the 15th of January.