The Hindu : Congress may tie up with 23 parties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 29, 2004

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Congress may tie up with 23 parties

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, FEB. 28. The Congress today claimed that the alliance led by the party would emerge as the biggest coalition at the Centre after the coming Lok Sabha elections. The coalition would decide on the future Prime Minister, he said.

Talking to mediapersons at Indira Gandhi Bhavan, the party's State headquarters here, the Congress spokesperson, Ashwini Kumar, said alliance had been firmed up with 14 political parties and the number of partners could go up to 23. The party was still hopeful of a tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, even as it was keeping the door open for Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party.

Mr. Kumar, who was in Jaipur to participate in a convention of the Congress intellectual cell here, said negotiations with the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh too were in the final stage.

The Congress spokesperson confessed that the party was not in a position to say anything concrete about its alliance with BSP. As for Mulayam Singh, the Congress agreed with him on many points, but had differences on certain others. However, the Congress expected both these parties to take a stand that would prevent the scattering of secular votes.

"In this electoral Mahabharat, any secular party willing to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party is welcome,'' Mr. Kumar said responding to a question whether it would be possible for the Congress to have an alliance with both the BSP and the SP at the same time. "Nothing can be better than such a situation, but it would all depend on both Mr. Yadav and Ms. Mayawati,'' he said.

Mr. Kumar said that the Left parties would, as in the past, rally round the secular forces for a post- poll alliance. "We are not saying that it is a pre-poll alliance,'' he pointed out.

The 14 parties that make up the allies listed by the Congress include the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the DMK, PMK and MDMK, the breakaway group of the Biju Janata Dal, Lok Jan Shakti and the People's Democratic Party.

"We are not counting out any political party at the regional or national level when it comes to fighting against the BJP,'' Mr. Kumar claimed.

The Congress considered the coming Lok Sabha elections crucial, as it would decide the future of the nation. Mr. Kumar said that the party would call the bluff on the BJP's "India Shining'' campaign in three documents — the party manifesto, the vision statement and the empowerment document — to be released shortly by the party president, Sonia Gandhi.

"The Congress is going to the people with a positive programme, a programme for national reconstruction, upholding the core values of the republic and taking care of the basic needs of the common man. The Congress is the only party that can make India rise and shine. It holds the secular conscience of India,'' he said.

In response to a question, Mr. Kumar explained that giving former Chief Ministers the charge of other States was not in any way an attempt at their banishment. They would campaign for the party in their home States as well. The party did not consider them responsible for the defeat in the Assembly elections, he pointed out.

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