Rajiv Gandhi was leaked to the press. It was reported that the Jain Commission had indicted Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for its ties with the LTTE, the organisation involved in the assassination of Gandhi. The DMK was one of the constituents of the United Front that was in power at the center. Moreover, the party had three ministers on the council of ministers headed by Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral. The Congress demanded removal from the government the ministers belonging to the DMK. Between 20 and 28 November 1997, an exchange of letters took place between Kesri and Prime Minister Gujral; however, the prime minister refused to meet the demands of the Congress. Finally, on 28 November 1997, Congress withdrew its support for the Gujral government. When no alternative government could be formed, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, paving the way for midterm elections. The Congress did not adequately prepare for the midterm elections. A number of senior leaders of the party, such as Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, Aslam Sher Khan, and other leaders, openly expressed displeasure with Kesri's leadership and left the party. After Sonia Gandhi decided to campaign for the party, she replaced Kesri as the main party campaigner. Sonia attracted huge crowds in her campaign rallies but did not win the election for the party. Nevertheless, the Congress did maintain a respectable tally of 140 seats. During the election campaign, there were a series of bomb blasts in Coimbatore, where BJP President Lal Krishna Advani was scheduled to address an election rally. About 50 people were killed in the blasts. After the blasts, Kesri made a statement that the bomb blasts were the handiwork of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and moreover, he had the proof of RSS involvement in the blasts. The RSS sued Kesri for defamation, but Kesri was granted bail by a city court in 1998. After the electoral defeat, Kesri was stripped of his post in March 1998 by the Congress Working Committee. Sonia Gandhi was appointed president of the Congress party in his place. Kesri's removal from the Congress Working Committee is considered by some as a betrayal of the party constitution, considering how Pranab Mukherjee and others conspired to eliminate Kesri from the party for Sonia Gandhi. Kesri, along with other members of the Working Committee including Tariq Anwar, was "roughed up" at Congress Party headquarters on 19 May 1999 by what has been