National
NDA Govt.'s fate hinges on U.P. poll: Surjeet
By Our Special Correspondent
KOLKATA, JAN. 6. A coming together of the Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav in the post-poll scenario in Uttar Pradesh may encourage a few NDA allies to break ranks and team up with the new combine to bring down the Vajpayee Government at the Centre, the CPI(M) reckons. The CPI(M) general-secretary, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, said today that the country's political scenario would undergo a drastic change if the BJP was routed in the February Assembly poll.
``The Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are important as they will have a bearing on national politics too,'' he said.
Mr. Surjeet said this at a news conference at the party's headquarters here while briefing the media on the CPI(M) central committee meeting held here between January 4 and 6.
According to the CPI(M) sources, Mr.Surjeet, while discussing the possible post-poll repercussions with his colleagues, reportedly offered a scenario where the Congress would team up with Mr. Yadav's Samajwadi Party(SP) to form a government in U.P.. If and when this happened, the Congress would try to upset the BJP-led NDA Government with help from a few NDA partners. In such a situation, the CPI(M) would support that government from outside. ``We are not strong enough to face the BJP alone,'' Mr.Surjeet said.
To a question, he said the issue of his party's participation in a Congress-led Government at the Centre did not figure in the discussion. The communists made it clear that they would prefer the Congress to the BJP any day and that they would resume their anti-Congress stance only when the BJP was dislodged from the Centre.
``All efforts will have to be made for the defeat of the BJP in U.P. by an effective mobilisation by the parties constituting the People's Front,'' Mr. Surjeet said.
He refused to comment on the CPI, the other conductor of the movement, reportedly forging an electoral alliance with the Congress for the Punjab Assembly poll saying, ``it is the CPI's decision.'' As for the CPI(M), it would contest the election on its own with the objective of defeating the Akali Dal-BJP alliance. However, the Congress was the only Opposition force in Punjab in a position to take on the combine, he conceded.
In Uttaranchal and Manipur, the CPI(M) would contest seats in order to defeat ``the BJP combine of communal forces.''
Mr.Surjeet criticised the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, for not reciprocating the gesture shown by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, at the opening session of the SAARC summit in Nepal on Saturday saying ``Mr.Vajpayee was perhaps trying to continue to whip up tension to extract political mileage for the BJP in the coming U.P. poll.'' The central committee expressed concern at the lack of growth of the party in the Hindi heartland. ``We are examining the reasons why we have failed to grow in U.P. and other areas in that region. After all, we have made a lot of sacrifices there.''
The party discussed and finalised the draft political resolution to be placed before the 17th party congress scheduled to be held in Hyderabad in March. The draft would now be edited and released in a few days for discussion within the ranks.
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