The Hindu : National : LJP gets backing of 3 Left parties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 09, 2005

National

National

LJP gets backing of 3 Left parties

Special Correspondent

Leave UPA if third alternative is formed: Lalu "Those who want to take the boat that is ready to sail are welcome, otherwise they can sit on the shores"

HAND-IN-HAND: LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan with CPI leader D. Raja in New Delhi on Thursday. — PHOTO: PTI

NEW DELHI: The contours for the Bihar Assembly elections appear to have been drawn with the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) getting the backing of three of the four Left parties supporting the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to contest separately, even as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Thursday hinted that the LJP should leave the UPA coalition if it was forming a third political alternative.

A day after the Congress asked the LJP chief, Ram Vilas Paswan, to finalise his party's stand by September 23, Communist Party of India leader D. Raja met Mr. Paswan, who also got in touch with the leaders of the All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party. The message was that all these parties would contest the coming Assembly elections together along with the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation.

The RJD, the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Communist Part of India (Marxist) will form a coalition to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party/Janata Dal (United) combine.

RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the Bihar polls. While asserting that he was not campaigning to oust Mr. Paswan from the UPA, Mr. Prasad said: "Honestly speaking he [Mr. Paswan] should not remain in the UPA [in case he prefers to contest separately], but I am not in this campaign... ''

For the RJD, Mr. Prasad emphasised, the ultimate aim was to defeat communal forces and all those who had similar objective could join the combination. The RJD, along with the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were going ahead. "Those who want to take the boat that is ready to sail are welcome, otherwise they can sit on the shores ... we are not going to touch anyone's feet and request them [to join]."

Asked how many seats the RJD would give the Congress, which is understood to have sought over 100 seats, Mr. Prasad said the party would give "a respectable and reasonable number of seats." The Congress, the RJD and the NCP would come out with a joint manifesto and carry out joint campaigning in the Bihar polls.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh joined issue with the CPI stating that its claim of mopping up anti-Lalu Prasad votes only reflected it was following personality-based politics instead of being driven by ideology. He said that ideologically, the CPI should have been with the Congress. The CPI was quick to respond stating that it was not for Mr. Digvijay Singh to suggest what the party should do. "The Congress should learn to function as a party instead of leaving every decision to the high command. And, as for fighting communal forces, everyone knows the CPI's commitment to take them on," Mr. Raja said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National