The see-sawing over who becomes National Alliance for Changes's presidential nominee, something Kanu's secretary-general Raila Odinga contemptuously terms as "this confused spectacle," is as much a feature of the ruling party as it is of the Opposition.

An intriguing development occurred a week ago when Mr Odinga and Mr Musalia Mudavadi came together for a fund-raising fete at Mudavadi's backyard of Chavakali, Vihiga District. Of great interest was Mr Mudavadi's announcement that the two leaders had agreed to work together politically and to support each other's political projects.

Mr Mudavadi is one of the four new Kanu vice-chairmen and also one of those being considered as top contenders for the Kanu presidential nomination. Mr Odinga may not belong to the vice-chairmen's club, but his core supporters are still very much holding out on the possibility of him becoming the Kanu nominee.

At another rally in Nyatike, Migori District, the same weekend, four of Mr Odinga's colleagues in the now-defunct NDP were reported as insisting that the secretary-general was still in contention for the presidency. Somehow, the MPs sounded more hopeful than confident.

Though Mr Mudavadi's name remains very much in the reckoning, the view being leaked from Kanu's inner circles is that Mr Odinga is likely to be compensated with the vice-presidency or the position of prime minister, assuming the constitutional provision is inserted before the General Election.

Neither Mr Odinga nor Mr Mudavadi quite specified why they felt they needed to form a "partnership". Whatever it was, they clearly seemed to be reacting to something.

The same weekend, Uhuru Kenyatta, the other vice-chairman who is being touted as a hot favourite for the Kanu presidential nomination, was being hosted by Nandi District politicians and councillors, who included Minister Henry Kosgey and his counterpart from Trans Mara, Mr Julius Sunkuli. The gist of their speeches was that they would support Mr Kenyatta for the presidency.

The growing chorus is generating unsympathetic political tremors, more so in Mr Mudavadi's and Mr Odinga's respective western Kenya strongholds. It cannot be by coincidence that some of Mr Mudavadi's and Mr Odinga's strongest supporters are suddenly very receptive to the notion of Mwai Kibaki becoming the joint presidential candidate for the alliance.

While responding to Tuesday's reported impasse in the alliance over their presidential selection, Kanu's secretary for legal affairs, Mr Otieno Kajwang' (who was one of the five MPs at Nyatike who had earlier endorsed Mr Odinga to go for the presidency), trenchantly told off the other aspirants to leave the slot to Mr Kibaki. According to Mr Kajwang', the person who has more shares in a company carries more votes.

It is not difficult to get at the possible meaning of all this. The choice of Mr Kibaki as the flag-bearer could have negative consequences for Mr Kenyatta, as Kanu would most likely come under intense internal pressure not to nominate a Kikuyu presidential candidate.