Support to Congress: Left line remains blurred

As the Lok Sabha elections enter the last lap,there is a growing realisation in the CPI(M) that it will have to do business....

As the Lok Sabha elections enter the last lap,there is a growing realisation in the CPI(M) that it will have to do business with the Congress again although the dominant view in the party is still against supporting a Government led by the grand old party.

While general secretary Prakash Karat has insisted that the Left will not back the Congress,many of the leaders now admit that they would prefer to wait till the results are out. For now,they cling on to the line that the CPI(M)s aim is to form a non-Congress,non-BJP alternative.

What will the CPI(M) do if the Congress emerges as the single largest party,finishing ahead of the alliances propped up by the Left and BJP? If one poses the question to the CPI(M) top boss,the answer is predictable we will not support a Congress-led Government again. But Politburo member Sitaram Yechury has a different take. We are in a battle. I cannot say what we will do if we lose the battle. At present,we are aiming to win the battle.

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The answer is vague and so is the party line. The Central Committee of the CPI(M),last held in January,had decided that the Left along with the secular parties would work towards a non-Congress,non-BJP alternative.

Asked about Karats take that the Left would not support a Congress-led coalition again,Yechury said in Kolkata on Monday,I do not know in what context he (Karat) had said this. We will decide what will happen post-election.

Left,JD(U) old friends,says Nitish

New Delhi: After JD(U) president Sharad Yadav,it was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who showered praise on the Left parties,terming the comrades as old friends and underlining the ideological similarities between the two parties,including those over the n-deal. The Left and we are old friends. We have similar views on many issues including the Indo-US nuclear deal, Kumar told CNN-IBN on Monday. ENS