Cong softens stand, leaves alliance option open

Asked if the Congress would be averse to a post-poll alliance with either the BSP or the SP, party spokesperson Jaipal Reddy said, ‘‘That is a hypothetical question. But we surely will have no alliance with the parties that are supporting the BJP in this elections.’’ In the same breath, he stressed that the Congress considered the SP a ‘‘secular party’’.

It was only yesterday that the Congress said it would be able to form the government without the help of either the SP or the BSP. In what looked like a softening of its position, the Congress today kept the option open. ‘‘According to our internal reports, the Congress, our allies and the Left parties is headed for a clear majority. We do not think that the 14th Lok Sabha would be hung,’’ Reddy said. The Congress also charged that the BJP’s ‘‘flexibility’’ about its allies was a ‘‘sign of defeat’’.

On the question of a third front, Reddy maintained that there was ‘‘no space for a third front’’ and that he would ‘‘share the perspective of Jyoti Basu’’ on this issue.