Sonia meets Congress' pre-poll allies

MANDATE 2004

Continuing her efforts to provide a stable coalition, Sonia Gandhi yesterday met leaders of Congress' pre-poll allies to discuss government formation.

The meeting, which is being held at Gandhi's 10, Janpath Residence here, is expected to decide the contours and shape of the government, the issue of common minimum programme and details about how to move forward in staking claim.

Signalling a climbdown, DMK yesterday indicated the possibility of joining a Congress-led government at the Centre, saying it needed more time to consider the issue.

An indication to this effect was given by DMK President K Karunanidhi after a 45-minute meeting with Gandhi at her residence here.

Karunanidhi, who spoke in Tamil, told reporters he had handed over to the Congress president a letter of support of 16 party MPs addressed to President APJ Abdul Kalam.

Observing that Gandhi has requested him to participate in the government, he said he had sought more time to think on it.

The DMK chief had only yesterday said that the party's working committee had decided against being part of the government.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) yesterday said it would be submitting a letter to Kalam extending support to a Congress-led government at the Centre, party leader D Raja said yesterday.

The party's national executive meeting which began yesterday is still continuing to discuss the issue of whether to join the government or extend support to it from outside, he told reporters here.

Raja said party leaders, led by CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan, would participate in a meeting of Congress' allies and supporting parties at Gandhi's residence this evening.

Bardhan had yesterday told reporters that the party had no objection to Gandhi being the Prime Minister.

Also, he hoped that the other constituents of the Left block like CPI(M) would decide on the issue soon.

The four-MP strong MDMK will not participate in the Congress-led coalition government at the Centre, but would only extend outside support.

Party chief Vaiko, who was here to attend the meeting of pre-poll allies convened by Gandhi, told reporters that MDMK was committed to its earlier stand of not participating in the government.

MDMK won all the four seats it contested in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu.

The RJD yesterday handed over its letter of support to Gandhi to pave the way for early formation of a government at the Centre.

"I have handed over the letter to Sonia to facilitate formation of a secular government as early as possible," RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav told reporters soon after his unanimous election as the leader of the parliamentary party.

To a question whether the RJD would join the government, he said "parliamentary party has authorised me to take a decision on the matter and it will be done at the right time."

Asserting that he was not hungry for power, Yadav said that for the sake of dislodging BJP, he had given a similar letter to Sonia in 1998 to form a non-BJP secular government.

In a significant development, Samajwadi Party yesterday joined Left parties and Congress' pre-poll allies at a meeting convened by Gandhi to discuss government formation.