Date:07/11/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/11/07/stories/2002110705790100.htm

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Cong. not for alliance in Gujarat

By Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI NOV. 6. Despite pressure from various quarters to put up a secular platform against the BJP in Gujarat Assembly elections, the mood within the Congress is not in favour of an electoral alliance.

Of the view that the battle of the ballot in the State is primarily between the Congress and the BJP, "seat adjustments'' with like-minded parties is the maximum the Congress is willing to yield by way of a pre-election understanding.

Even as the screening committee of the Congress sat for a greater part of today to draw up the `penultimate' shortlist of candidates for the Assembly elections, the AICC general secretary in-charge of Gujarat, Kamal Nath, ruled out any alliance, but said the party was not averse to seat adjustments with like-minded parties.

This, Congress sources maintain, is one issue on which the Gujarat unit — riddled with groupism — is unanimous about. And, though open to seat adjustments, indications are that the Congress will not yield too many seats.

As the Congress sees it, the Lok Janashakti Party of Ramvilas Paswan can be conceded a couple of seats and the CPI(M) its lone pocket-borough.

Even the Nationalist Congress Party's assertion of having a hold over south Gujarat is challenged by the Congress.

"We do not have a transferable vote; so even if we give up a seat to another party, it will be lost in the absence of a political apparatus to fight the elections,'' explained a senior Congress leader, arguing that many of the like-minded parties which claim to have a base in Gujarat do not have the wherewithal needed to romp home.

Also, according to the Pradesh Congress Committee president, Shankarsinh Waghela, given the ground realities in the State and winnability being the prime concern, like-minded parties ought to throw in their lot with the Congress without hoping for seats if they are serious about defeating the BJP.

With the Congress due to launch its election campaign on November 11, preparations have begun in right earnest and today's screening committee meeting was one in a series of such election-related exercises being undertaken by the party high command.

At the meeting — attended among others by Pranab Mukherjee, P.M. Sayeed and the Gujarat Congress Legislature Party leader, Amarsinh Choudhary, besides Mr. Nath and Mr. Waghela — the screening committee went through a list of 700 names referred to it by the Pradesh Election Committee from the 2,000-odd applications it had received.

The shortlist prepared by the screening committee will then be put before AICC's central election committee which is due to meet on November 10; a day before the Congress kicks off its campaign for the crucial polls.