Defence Minister A.K. Antony has ruled out the possibility of an alliance with Left parties in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Mr. Antony told mediapersons here on Saturday that he was not aware of the context in which Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi had favoured initiating dialogues with the Left parties ahead of the polls. However, in what could be understood as a hint that the Congress sought to keep its options open, Mr. Antony said it was too early to comment on the post-poll agreements.
Admitting that the State unit of the Congress faced many problems, Mr. Antony, however, said that these issues could be resolved by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala. He added that the party did not require external assistance to solve problems.
The Union Minister said that Central assistance would be provided to the State to tackle drought. He added that there would be no cut in the allocation of rationed commodities for the State.