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Mulayam keen on Third Front govt, calls Naidu

All hopes for the installation of a Congress government at the Centre hinge on the moves of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav who is meeting President K R Narayanan today to disclose his party's stand in this regard.

The Samajwadi Party, having 20 members in the Lok Sabha, appears to be dithering on the issue of lending support to a minority Congress government.

Mulayam had a telephonic talk today with Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu to explore the possibilities of forming a Third Front government.

According to a TDP spokesman, the party leadership will again meet in the evening in Hyderabad to take stock of the situation and evolve its strategy accordingly.

Leaders of the Revolutionary Socialist Party and Forward Bloc will also meet the President today. Sources in the Left Front said the two parties have softened their stand, and may now agree to support a minority Congress government from outside.

The President will also meet Bahujan Samaj Party vice-president Mayawati and Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy. In the evening, he will meet three or four constitutional experts.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal president and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said, ''Either the (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee government will be reinstalled or there will be mid-term polls.''

A loyalist of Badal's rival Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Prem Singh Chandumajra has said he was not consulted by the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies before including his name in the list of 270 members of Parliament submitted to the President. Chandumajra said he would decide his stand after the situation takes a concrete shape.

Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet told UNI today that the problems in the installation of the alternative government were being ironed out. ''I am hopeful that all irritants will be sorted out,'' he said.

Earlier, Surjeet said that ''either there will be a government led by the Congress or mid-term polls.''

Additional reportage: UNI

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