No NDA Government at any cost, says Karat

New Delhi, May 14 (ANI): CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat has said the Left's post-poll strategy would centre around preventing the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance from coming to power.

In an interview to the Economic Times, Karat said that his party won't let the NDA come to power at any cost.

"The Left is determined not to give the BJP any scope to exploit the post-poll numbers game to form a government at the Centre," Karat said.

While reiterating that the Left will not give outside support to a Congress-led government, Karat added that in the event of the Congress refusing to prop up a Third Front regime, the Left and like-minded parties in the Third Front will exercise the 'last option' of sitting in the Opposition.

According to the paper, this would mean that the four Left parties and a "nucleus of unwavering Third Front partners" would tactically allow for a Congress-led minority government just to keep the BJP out of power.

Karat and other Left leaders have decided to convene a meeting of its Third Front/alternative partners here after May 16 to chalk out a post-poll strategy. Ameeting with the BSP has also been pencilled in for May 18.

Even while the Congress and BJP are trying to woo Jayalalithaa and Mayawati, Left leaders are confident that Chadrababu Naidu's TDP and Navin Patnaik's BJD will stand by the four Left parties.

It means, according to Left sources, a bloc of 60-70 MPs, who will neither extend open support to a Congress-led government or back the BJP either to form a saffron party-led regime or in collaborating with the BJP to ambush the possibility of a 'secular minority regime".

Only a totally unexpected electoral windfall for the BJP-led NDA, giving it the capacity to dramatically alter the number equations could upset this Left action-plan.

Karat also cleared his stand on Dr Manmohan Singh by saying that he has no personal opposition to Dr Singh, maintaining that the Left only differed with the Congress over its policies.

A day after the conclusion of the month-long electoral exercise amid forecasts of a hung verdict, the political hobnobbing to form a government has gained momentum with several parties still keeping their cards closed till the final result is declared. (ANI)