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“Sonia has recognised our strength”

H.D. DEVE GOWDA

I said I had no objection to Mayawati becoming PM. I stand by it

The JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, one of the driving forces behind the formation of a non-Congress and non-BJP secular democratic alternative at the Centre, is looking forward to the formation of a Third Front government so that the lapses of the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regimes are set right. He rules himself out of contention for the top post, but defends the decision of the Third Front constituents to choose their Prime Ministerial candidate after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are declared in this interview with LAIQH A. KHAN.

The Congress, whose support could be crucial for the formation of a non-UPA and non-NDA Government at the Centre, has dubbed the Third Front a “morcha with as many Prime Ministerial candidates as the number of parties it has.”

Did the UPA name its Prime Ministerial candidate before the 2004 Lok Sabha polls? I know how Dr. Manmohan Singh was chosen as the Prime Minister. I can come out with everything in black and white. But, I don’t want to… I also know how many parties joined the UPA after the 2004 polls and how many are leaving and watching the situation. I am sure the UPA will not come to power. Some of its constituents may come to us. How many of them will come is only guesswork at this juncture. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has criticised the BJP-led NDA even more bitterly for its “politics of hate.” She has also recognised the strength of the Third Front and acknowledged the capacity of its leaders to become Prime Ministers of the country.

What role do you foresee for yourself at the Centre after the Lok Sabha election?

Nothing. However, I will continue to bring pressure on the government on burning issues like unemployment, poverty, malnutrition, hunger, communalism, gap between rich and poor, gap between urban rich and rural poor, urban rich and urban poor etc. I would like to devote my strength to rebuilding my party in Karnataka so that we can come back to power without anybody’s support in the 2011-12 Assembly elections.

How is the coordination among the different constituents of the Third Front?

In view of the coming elections, the main agenda of all the political parties in the country — whether they are national or regional — is to increase their respective strengths in the Lok Sabha. In this context, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati during a meeting of Third Front constituents at her residence on March 15 bluntly said she does not want to share seats as it would lead to friction among the partners. It was a politically mature decision she took. The Congress is now finding itself in a predicament that Mayawati foresaw. The other mature decision we took was that all the Third Front partners would bring out their respective election manifestos instead of having a common one. However, we unanimously decided to bring out a common minimum programme (CMP) after the elections just like we decided to choose a Prime Minister for the Third Front.

If you are ruling yourself out for the post of Prime Minister, will the JD(S) pitch for Mayawati instead?

When Mayawati called on me in New Delhi during the trust vote on the nuclear deal, I was asked by a journalist whether I would endorse the candidature of “Behenji” for the post of Prime Minister. I said I had no objection. I stand by my statement even today. There is no question of changing my stance. But this is [only] my decision as the leader of the JD(S).

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