Left favours a broader alliance

Virtually endorsing Sonia Gandhi as the next Prime Minister, the Communist Party of India-Marxist CPI(M) today said the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) would "associate" with the new government for stability, but remained non-commital on its own participation.

Dismissing queries about Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, Surjeet said neither SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav nor NCP President Sharad Pawar, who broke away from the Congress on this issue in 1999, raised this during their meeting with him today.

On whether the SP and NCP's association would mean their joining the new government, he said "more or less". "We have succeeded in bringing all the secular parties, which fought against the BJP, under one umbrella," he said.

Replying to a query, Surjeet said the BSP was not part of it and added, "We are briningg together those parties who fought against the BJP earlier on one platform. Then we can consider others."

Asked if the CPI(M) would join the new government, he said the issue would be considered at the Politburo and the Central Committee meetings here scheduled for tomorrow and Sunday.

A national-level meeting of the four Left parties will be held in Delhi on Sunday to evolve a consensus on the vital issue of supporting a Congress-led government at the Centre as also the question of joining it.

Such a meeting had become imperative in the changed situation arising out of the emergence of the Congress as the largest political party after the Lok Sabha elections, Manju Majumder, secretary of the CPI's West Bengal, unit said in Kolkata.

Surjeet said Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav would meet him tomorrow and DMK supremo Karunanidhi would come a day after and added that he was in touch with all the parties that had jointly fought the divisive forces.