Pushing for a non-Congress,non-BJP government,CPM claimed on Tuesday that leaders like Lalu Prasad,Mulayam Singh Yadav,Nitish Kumar and M Karunanidhi are under pressure from their ranks to go for an alternative policy direction ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. It said efforts will be made to form a government without support of the Congress,which,it accused of being responsible for uncertainty in previous non-Congress and non-BJP regimes. The Marxist party,which is spearheading the Third Front initiative,saw "most of the parties" in the UPA and "a few" in the BJP-led NDA as its natural allies post-poll. Leaders like Lalu Prasad,Mulayam Singh Yadav,Sharad Pawar,M Karunanidhi and Ram Vilas Paswan as also Nitish Kumar are "under pressure" from their ranks to go for an alternative policy direction,CPM Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said. "I am in a political battle. My aim is to form a non-Congress,non-BJP government. In the midst of the battle asking what I will do if I am defeated.I am not going to entertain such questions," Yechury said in an interview. Yechury's response was to a question as to whether it was possible for the Left parties to support a Congress government without Manmohan Singh,whom they have accused of "betrayal" on the issue of the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Left leader said that efforts will be made to form a government without support of the Congress which it alleged was responsible for uncertainty in previous non-Congress,non-BJP governments. At the same time,he said,all depends upon numbers. Yechury visualised the beginning of the consolidation of the undivided Socialist Party after the elections,obviously referring to the coming together of the two Yadav leaders as also Paswan. Incidentally,the erstwhile Socialist Party was known for its 'anti-Congressism'. The Marxist leader appreciated the BJP for following up the CPM's issue of getting back the illegal Indian money stashed in banks abroad but made it clear that "there is no common ground" with that party which is the "political arm" of the RSS. He foresaw a realignment of political forces after elections,saying regional parties were being pushed by its rank and file to shift away from the policies pursued by the Congress. Yechury also sought to dismiss suggestions from detractors of the Third Front that it will collapse like a pack of cards with many of its constituents going in for greener pastures if the results are not in its favour. Asked as to what was the Left's political message to the Congress with whose coalition its parting of ways was a bitter affair,he said,"you cannot have a situation where you agree to something because you want the support to form the government. .Once the government is formed,you cannot go violating it (Common Minimum Programme)." The message was apparently aimed at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whom it was not on best of terms when the Left withdrew support to the government last year on the Indo-US nuclear deal issue. Yechury disagreed with the view that the issue of Prime Ministerial candidate would be the Achilles heel of the Third Front in view of a number of ambitious leaders in its ranks. He said that there was "no shortage of competent people" in their fold to become the Prime Minister. "There are a large number of people (to become Prime Ministers). There is no shortage of competent people,we have people who have served in the past (as Prime Minister),we have chief ministers of larger states," Yechury said. At the same time,he assailed both the UPA and the NDA for showing "disrespect" to the system of Parliamentary democracy by announcing Prime Ministerial candidates. He claimed both the UPA and NDA were "disintegrating" and the "final act of theatre begins after May 16" when the results are out. Asked about parties' chances in its strongholds,Yechury said that it would be "very difficult" to repeat the record of winning 19 seats out of 20 in Kerala. He suggested that in West Bengal,the party would play the development card to the hilt to keep the Congress- Trinamool alliance on the defensive.
