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Congress building bridges with estranged allies

New Delhi Bureau

BJP hopes some regional parties will come to the NDA fold

— Photo: S. Subramanium

Fourth front: Lok Jan Shakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan flanked by Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh (left) and Mulayam Singh after a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday opened its doors to all parties, except the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena, in its attempt to put up a secular and progressive government. Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told journalists here that the party was working with all like-minded parties except these two “communal forces.”

This is a shift from the Congress’ earlier stance not to do business with any constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) until it left the group. If the Congress depends on the glue of secularism, the BJP is pinning its hopes on anti-Congressism providing the NDA the magnetic field to draw parties in the race for numbers.

Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said as much; he was confident that anti-Congressism would bring some regional parties — which cannot go with the Congress because of State politics — to the NDA fold.

Though he refused to name such parties, the BJP is apparently eyeing the Telugu Desam Party and the Biju Janata Dal, which are in direct conflict with the Congress in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The party has decided to first target parties based in south India since it has little to lose in the four southern States.

In the Congress camp, the effort for now is to build bridges with estranged allies. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is understood to have spoken to Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on the phone. On Wednesday, she spoke to Lok Jan Shakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan.

Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh called up Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh purportedly to enquire about his health. Both leaders apologised for harsh statements made during the electoral heat and suggested that bygones be bygones.

The day also saw SP leaders Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh holding discussions with Mr. Paswan. The three decided to evolve a joint strategy of their Fourth Front on May 17, even as Mr. Amar Singh told journalists that he had spoken to CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and was trying to establish contact with the NCP and the Praja Rajyam Party.

Amid speculation of Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar making moves to project himself as a consensus prime ministerial candidate, he called on Ms. Gandhi on Wednesday. Mr. Pawar’s second-in-command, Praful Patel, followed this up with a meeting with her on Thursday.

NCP changes stand

PTI reports:

The NCP appeared to be giving up the idea of Mr. Pawar as Prime Minister and favoured a stable and secular UPA government, where the party chief could play an “important role.”

“All parties and their leaders would like to have their own PM candidates, but this has to be seen from a practical point of view. The NCP does not have such numbers where we can say that Sharad Pawar has to be Prime Minister,” Mr. Praful Patel said.

He told journalists that in this era of coalition politics, where the NCP had fought elections along with the Congress, “the main effort would be to see that a secular UPA government is formed where Sharad Pawar could play an important role.”

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