Congress has a “very good chance” of forming a government under its leadership with some allies, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday amid growing chorus of an “enlarged” UPA—III to stop Narendra Modi from coming to power.
Talking to reporters at the AICC headquarters, Chidambaram also insisted that the political scenario this time is vastly different from the one after the 1989 polls when Rajiv Gandhi chose to sit in the Opposition despite getting some 190 seats.
He said Congress has a “very good chance” of forming the government “under its leadership” with some allies.
“Whichever party is in a position to form a stable government should come forward and it must discharge its responsibility. You cannot run away from responsibility. This country cannot afford an election every three months," he said.
“If the Congress is in a position to form a government, it will come forward, I believe it will come forward,” Chidambaram said in a clear indication so far that Congress has not given up its intention to form a government even if its numbers are reduced.
He said the scenario in the 2014 polls has changed from 1989 and this time, the Lok Sabha poll is "not one election but election of various States."
“We have to see the final tally of various parties,” he said but refused to predict how many seats the Congress will get. “I don’t make predictions of election outcomes. Every party goes into elections with the belief that it will win the election and form the government. I also believe that the Congress will win the election and form the government."
Chidambaram’s remarks came a day after a senior party leader floated the idea of an “enlarged” UPA—III, taking on board new allies and keeping open the issue of leadership to stop Modi from becoming the Prime Minister.
“All options are on the table and all options are off the table. It all depends upon the numbers we get and the BJP gets and the margin between them,” a senior party leader, who declined to be identified, had said.
