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Saturday, Feb 05, 2005

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Congress upbeat about poll prospects

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB.4. The Congress today expressed confidence that a "wide spectrum of secular governments" would assume power in Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand, where the Assembly elections are being held.

At the conclusion of polling for the 90-member Assembly in Haryana, the mood in the Congress camp was upbeat, and with the exit polls predicting a sweep across the State, it turned buoyant.

"The first phase of polling strengthens and reinforces our belief that the Congress shall give a wide spectrum of secular governments with strong party presence in each of these States," the party spokesperson, Abhishek Singhvi, said.

Rainbow range

Elaborating on the "rainbow range" of secular governments, Mr. Singhvi said in Haryana it would be a Congress show all the way; in Jharkhand, the party would form the government as per the pre-poll understanding with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha; and in Bihar, the secular parties would forge a post-poll formation and form government.

The common thread in all these governments would be a strong presence of the Congress and one in which the people "would not have to suffer the Bharatiya Janata Party."

The Congress calculation was not based on the exit poll projections but the public response to its campaign as well as the grassroots reality, he said.

Asked whether the Congress envisaged including the Janata Dal (United) in the "rainbow range" in Bihar, he said that in politics all possibilities exist.

Common factor

However, the Congress was clear that irrespective of the rivalry during the elections in Bihar, both the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Lok Janshakti Party were with it at the Centre.

The common factor that bound all these parties was the resolve to combat communal forces.

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