Left May Back Cong, But First Priority Third Front

What could be its final stand on post-poll truck, the Left Front is reported to be studying the option to support a Congress-led minority government if UPA emerges as the largest political alliance after elections but falls short of a majorit.

The four-party Left Front, which was thoroughly averse to supporting the Congress, maintains that its prime goal would be to form a non-Congress and non-BJP Third Front government. But if this doesn’t turn out this way, Left parties may also negotiate support for a UPA government with the only insistence that Manmohan Singh should be PM.

In a talk show on private TV channel, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat indicated that the Left was willing to negotiate with the Congress.

“I don’t think that the BJP is going to be in the picture at all. And if Congress will keep asking for Left’s support then I am telling the Congress party that they’ll have to deal with this combination of 10-11 parties (Third Front),” Karat said.

“We (Third Front) are working seriously for a non-Congress government at the Centre and if that is not going to happen then we would discuss after the elections what we should do,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said that the CPI-M and other Left parties might change their “stand” on government formation.

“We have changed our stand regarding joining government. If we can create a non-Congress, non-BJP government, which addresses the real problems of the poor, we are open to the idea of joining such a government,” he said.