Cong not to back third front's attempt to form govt

MANDATE 2004

In the given atmosphere of political uncertainty deepened by the findings of exit polls, the Congress is of the view that it will not support any individual or group of parties""the so-called third front, for instance""from the outside.

If it has the numbers, it will form the government as the single largest party and invite other allies to join. If it does not reach the cut-off mark to enable it to form a government, it will sit in the Opposition.

This means that the only two political options before the party are to form the government or sit in the opposition. The implications of this are that the door to the formation of a Third Front government led either by Mulayam Singh Yadav or Sharad Pawar, supported by the Left and other regional parties and the Congress from the outside, has slammed shut.

"We are absolutely clear that we will not repeat the experiments of 1979, 1991, 1996 and 1998" said a top leader of the party.

In 1979 the Congress supported the Charan Singh government from the outside and withdrew support in 1980 leading to general elections. The story of the Congress support to HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujaral in the 1996-98 era of uncertainty is well known.

The Congress believes it was a huge mistake to have supported the Chandrashhekhar government in 1991. "All these moves had the effect of entrenching communal forces deeper and giving them legitimacy. Fighting communal forces is our top priority and we will do nothing that will help them strengthen themselves" party leaders said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya had said yesterday that the Left parties' objective was to ensure a secular government in the Centre at any cost.

Today the Congress politely said that the cost of ensuring secular forces formed a government at the Centre, could not be paid by it alone.

It had to be paid collectively by all the non-BJP opposition. Therefore, the party was clear that it will not negotiate the post of Prime Minister with any party, but will follow the straight and narrow path of the prime ministership going to the single largest party, as ordained by the Westminster model.

Though this position could be a tactical one, to wear down the bargaining power of smaller parties like Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party in case the Lok Sabha is so badly hung that no one gets to form a government, this could also be the dawning of belated wisdom on the part of the Congress, after Sonia Gandhi's abortive bid to cobble the Opposition together and attempt to form a government with Yadav's support in 1998.

Whether the party will stick to this position when it's working committee meets to review the elections after May 13, remains to be seen.