Though Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s clarion call for an alliance of ‘‘like-minded secular parties’’ to defeat BJP-led coalition’s communal designs evoked mixed response, her stand seems to have received a boost with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ready to bury the issue of her foreign origin. The CPI-M and CPI which were till now making favourable noises about extending a friendly hand to Congress, have now ruled out any electoral alliance with it. But they are keeping the options open for the next Lok Sabha elections. ‘‘The CPI-M does not contemplate forming a front or going for an electoral alliance with the Congress. We cannot go for a such an alliance as we continue to have basic differences with the Congress. But, as opposition parties we would continue to cooperate on issues and fight communalism both in Parliament and outside,’’ Prakash Karat, CPI-M’s senior Politburo member said. This is despite CPI-M general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet recently advocating the need for an alliance with Congress to defeat communal forces. Explaining why his party cannot go in for an electoral alliance with the Congress now, even though the two had gone a tie-up during Gujarat Assembly elections, Karat added: ‘‘Gujarat was a special case. For the forthcoming Assembly elections, we have already decided to contest in a limited number of seats. Though BJP is our main target, we will raise issues of government failure in Congress-ruled states.’’ Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav refused to come on record. He said he would prefer to convey his opinion directly to Sonia. Former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh welcomed the initiative. “No pre-condition (of Sonia leading the coalition) should be imposed before making an alliance. Elected MPs have the right to elect their leader and they should not be denied their right.’’ Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh held a similar view. ‘‘The debate that who should lead the alliance is meaningless at this stage. If this alliance comes out with enough numbers the successful MPs will elect their leader.’’
