Karat says BSP will attend Third Front meet

During the day,Karat spoke to Gowda to clear the air over H D Kumaraswamys meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday. The JD(S) chief is learnt to have told Karat that his party was firmly with the Third Front and assured him that nothing much should be read into his sons meeting with the Congress chief.

I consulted all the parties with which the Left has a pre-poll understanding. I spoke to Jayalalithaa,Naveen Patnaik,Deve Gowda and Chandrababu Naidu. I believe some of them have spoken among themselves also. We decided that we should meet on May 18 to decide our future course of action, Karat said. He also had a meeting with Left leaders A B Bardhan and Debabrata Biswas before getting in touch with the allies.

With its allies being actively wooed by both the BJP and the Congress,Karats attempt was to ensure that the Third Front retains its firepower even after May 16 and to dispel notions that the alternative was disintegrating. Karat,however,was in no mood to renew ties with the Samajwadi Party and has accepted the fact that TRS has turned hostile. We very much want the BSP with us, he said.

Although West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has hinted at a post-poll patch up with the Congress,the hardline Marxist ruled out any such possibility. We broke with the Congress on policy matters. Nothing has changed between July 2008 and now. The Congress is pursuing the same policies, he said.

At the same time,he said the Left should not be seen as a separate entity and any decision would be taken in consultations with its allies. We will discuss and take a joint stand, he said.

Before the meeting of the Third Front,the Left parties will meet on May 17 to take stock of the election results.