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Monday, Oct 08, 2007
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Paswan does not rule out snap polls

K. Balchand

“Issues confronting country will be the same despite poll”
LJP to maintain equidistance from the RJD and NDA

PATNA: Union Steel Minister and Lok Jan Shakthi Party president Ramvilas Paswan on Sunday did not rule out the possibility of a mid-term election to the Lok Sabha in the wake of the stand-off between the Congress and the Left on the nuclear deal.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Paswan said that the circumstances were such that anything was possible. “Elections can take place and elections need not take place. It is too dicey to take a call. Things are not in my hands so you have to be prepared.”

Mr. Paswan, however, added that a snap poll would not be in the interest of the nation. “The future does not seem to be bright. The picture is not clear.” In his opinion, the Congress and Left were unlikely to increase their numbers and the same permutations and combinations would prick at the nation after the elections.

He feared that the issues confronting the country would be the same despite the elections. “Then what do you do? Will you go in for another election?” he wondered.

Mr. Paswan suggested that it would be better if the issues were decided in whichever way before the elections. Pointing out that the Congress and the Left were blaming each other for the impasse, Mr. Paswan hoped that the talks would break the ice.

He said that he had geared up his party wings for the elections and asked them to prepare for such an eventuality at short notice. On Sunday he inducted two former legislators into the party to strengthen its base.

The LJP chief has decided to contest the elections on his own strength maintaining equidistance from the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the National Democratic Alliance. He said the party’s strategy would be drafted to suit its interest.

Mr. Paswan would not compromise on his party’s interest as he had done the last time round under pressure from Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He stressed that the United Progressive Alliance did not exist in Bihar and in the recent by-elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly the constituents had contested on their respective steam.

He said that he had suffered in the last parliamentary elections by being a constituent of the UPA and, hence, would contest on his own. “Numbers matter and those with numbers call the shots in Delhi. In the numbers game I’ll have the numbers this time.”

Mr. Paswan also ruled out the possibility of having any truck with the Left parties for the reason that their interests clashed on the issue of Balia and Nalanda constituencies. The CPI too had a claim on these seats.

On Karnataka developments, Mr. Paswan favoured immediate elections as the JD(S) government had been brought to a minority.

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