‘What personal quarrel do we have with PM’

They are responding well. As you know,a number of parties who were either with the NDA or the UPA have joined us in trying to form an alternative,a non-Congress,non-BJP alternative. And after the election results are out,more parties may join us. Secular parties,of course.

•The Left had 60-odd seats last time. Do you think it will get as many now?

I think we will be able to retain that number of seats. Though a couple of seats may be reduced in West Bengal and four or five seats in Kerala,these will be made up by additions elsewhere.

•Are Nandigram and Singur factors for losing seats in West Bengal?

Those are very local issues. It will have a bearing on the results,but the prophets of doom who think the Left will lose many seats will be proved totally wrong.

•Will the infighting in the CPI(M) cause a loss of seats in Kerala?

No. In Kerala,we won 19 out of 20 seats last time,but one cannot always expect such a result.

•Do you think the corruption allegations against CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan will have an impact?

Who is going to raise this issue? The corrupt Congress? There is a saying that those who come to the court of equity should do so with clean hands. That is how the people look at it.

•Sonia Gandhi also made remarks about the Left going with the BJP twice in the past?

May I know how the Congress brought down the Gowda government? The Congress and the BJP together brought it down. They did the same thing with Gujral and V P Singh. Who opened the locks of the Babri Masjid? Was it not the Congress? For her to say all that is surprising. Actually,she is losing her cool.

•At the thought of the Third Front?

Yes. First,the Congress thought they should ignore it,kill it by using a conspiracy of silence. But then they could no longer ignore it. So now,every Congress leader talks only about the Third Front. If it is not worthwhile,why are they spending their time attacking it?

•Congress leaders say they don’t mind taking your support after elections.

Even their own partners have fallen out with them. Lalu Prasad Yadav was one of their most loyal supporters. He and Ram Vilas Paswan have refused to concede any more than three seats out of 40 in Bihar. Mulayam Singh rushed to save them during the trust vote. He has now refused to give them the seats they want. One after another,all the allies in the UPA are coming out to teach the Congress a lesson.

•After elections,if a situation arises in which you have to keep the BJP out of power,will you support the Congress?

It is clear that the Congress has not been able to keep the BJP out of power. Others have,in their own states. At the all-India level,the BJP will be a poor third.

•Will the Third Front be able to form a government on its own? You may have to do business with the Congress.

We are not there to help the Congress to form the government. But it is not a question of Manmohan Singhji. What personal quarrel do we have with him? We were against the neo-liberal policies of the UPA government. The whole Capitalist world is seeing the effects of neo-liberal policies. We have seen how it affects India. If the Indian situation is not as bad,it is only because the Left prevented moves for privatisation that the Congress wanted to carry out.

•If there is a change in policies or,say,a new Common Minimum Programme,will you support the Congress?

They violated the CMP last time and that was our quarrel with them. It started right in 2005. If the Congress persists with such policies,how we can support it? If we are not in a position to form the government,we will sit in the opposition.

•Who is the frontrunner as your PM candidate? Mayawati,Jayalalithaa,Deve Gowda,Chandrababu Naidu?

Was Manmohan Singh the prime ministerial candidate in 2004? He was chosen after the polls. After elections,all the parties with us will decide by consensus.

•You said some parties will come with you after elections. Is the door open for the Samajwadi Party too?

Some people in state politics have come to certain irreconcilable positions. If Mayawati is on one side,Mulayam Singh must be on the other. So one has to make a choice. Mayawati is talking about a non-Congress,non-BJP government. Mulayam Singh is not talking about that. I do consider the Samajwadi Party as secular,that’s why we were with them for so long. But they left us. Their sudden love for the Congress has not paid them dividends. Today,they are fighting each other.

•Do you expect Lalu and Paswan to come with you after polls?

I am not predicting anything. I am saying there are possibilities.