The Hindu : Sangma prefers NDA to Congress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 14, 2004

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Sangma prefers NDA to Congress

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI, JAN. 13. About five years after it broke away from the Congress on the issue of Sonia Gandhi's leadership, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seems prepared to lose one of its founding members, P. A. Sangma, after the former Lok Sabha Speaker made it clear today that he would prefer to do business with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rather than the Congress.

The NCP working committee, meeting here tomorrow, appears all set to give the `go-ahead' for an alliance with the Congress. The committee is expected to authorise the party president, Sharad Pawar, to finalise the seat-sharing arrangement with "like-minded secular parties."

On Monday night, the NCP leadership made a last-ditch effort to bring around both Mr. Sangma and the Chhattisgarh chief, V. C. Shukla. Both were vehemently opposing the move to align with the Congress. The efforts, according to senior NCP leaders, were only partly successful. While Mr. Shukla is reported to have relented, Mr. Sangma refused to budge and made it clear that he could not reconcile himself to the idea of aligning with the Congress, even if that meant parting of ways.

Mr. Sangma's supporters indicate that contrary to speculation, he is unlikely to join the BJP and would instead spearhead the North-East People's Forum, which comprises all the non-Congress parties — including the BJP. The Forum will, in turn, link up with the NDA.

Senior NCP leaders such as Tariq Anwar say that the current position of the party on alliances is consistent with the line adopted by the national convention of the party. The political resolution adopted at the convention highlighted the dangers posed by communal forces and the "encouragement" that these forces had received from the BJP-led Centre.

"The biggest danger to the nation is from communal forces. It is the duty of the secular forces to join hands to prevent them from capturing power," says Mr. Anwar.

'Against principles'

PTI reports:

In an interview to NDTV, Mr. Sangma said: ``I cannot be part of any tie-up with the Congress under Sonia Gandhi. It goes against my self-respect and the very principles on which the NCP was formed.''

Maintaining that he was not averse to joining the NDA, he said: ``The final decision will be taken by my people, but yes, at the moment I would prefer to join the NDA''.

On the Congress claim that any decision on prime ministership would be taken after the elections, Mr. Sangma said: ``They can say what they want now. After the elections, there will be usual rallies, hunger strikes and demands for Ms. Sonia Gandhi to be the leader. This is the Congress strategy.''

The NCP leader said he could reconsider his decision if the Congress announced the name of a leader other than Ms. Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate.

``Let them even now say that Narasimha Rao, my preferred choice, or a Narayan Dutt Tewari or a Manmohan Singh will be the leader of the secular front, and I am willing to go along with it,'' he said.

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