Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat on Saturday ruled out the possibility of Left parties supporting a Congress-led government at the Centre after the election.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme of the Ernakulam Press Club, Mr. Karat said the Congress would get an all-time low tally this time and would be forced to sit in the Opposition.
He said a post-election alliance of Left, secular, and regional parties would form the government. The Left parties would consider joining the government based on the number of seats they win and the role they play in government formation. The BJP and its allies would not get the required number of seats to form a government.
Mr. Karat said BJP’s Narendra Modi would not become India’s Prime Minister as desired by corporates and Hindutva supporters. He said the stability promised by Mr. Modi would be disastrous for the country.
Mr. Karat wondered why the BJP was not releasing its election manifesto though the first round of polling was round the corner. “On April 7, the country will go into the first round of polls and the BJP is planning to bring out the manifesto on that day. In its 2009 election manifesto, that party had promised to build a Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Nobody knows what their manifesto has to say on crucial issues like Ram temple, which already divided India’s social fabric,” he said.
“By fielding Modi in Varanasi, a clear signal was sent by the BJP to Hindutva elements in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country about reviving the mosque demolition drive. First it was Ayodhya. Now they will whip up passion in the name of Kashi-Mathura,” he said.
On Antony’s remarkOn Defence Minister A.K. Antony expressing confidence that UPA-III would be in power and that the Left parties would support the move to prevent BJP from coming to power, Mr. Karat said, “There is no question of the Left parties supporting the Congress. I am surprised that a senior leader of Antony’s stature said so”. “When a party is in power and when they lose election, where is the question of forming the government? When you lose the mandate of the electorate, you do not go back to form the government,” he said.
