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Mulayam meets Surjeet; CPI-M ready to join a Congress-led coalition

The Communist Party of India-Marxist has convened an emergency meeting of the Politburo on Sunday to consider the party's stand in case the Congress-led coalition proposal fails to take off. In such an eventuality, the Congress might inform the President either by tonight or tomorrow that it would not be in a position to form the government, sources said.

The CPI-M, by virtue of being the third largest party in the Lok Sabha, may be invited by the President to explore the possibility of forming an alternative government. The politburo will discuss the issue threadbare before meeting Narayanan.

Sources said the CPI-M would not be averse to heading agovernment with the help of the Congress and other secular parties to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from staging a comeback. The Politburo would also decide whether Jyoti Basu's services could be spared to lead the country.

Meanwhile, hectic activities for the formation of an alternative government at the Centre resumed early today with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham general secretary J Jayalalitha having an unscheduled meeting with President K R Narayanan. She also met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

After meeting Mulayam, Jayalalitha said talks were continuing among the leaders of various parties. ''Most probably, the next government will be in place in the next two days,'' she added.

However, she declined to disclose details of her discussions with the President and Mulayam.

Sources said Jayalalitha has told the President that the AIADMK prefers a Third Front-led government. She is keen that Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy should be the prime minister.

Earlier, Mulayam had a long discussion with CPI-M general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet at his home, reviving hopes of the secular parties remaining united.

According to highly placed sources, Mulayam is understood to have made a climbdown and agreed to join a Congress-led government provided the party agreed to some arrangement in Uttar Pradesh.

The CPI-M also held an emergency meeting in New Delhi to give the green signal to a Congress-led coalition which is a departure from their earlier position that the party would extend outside support to a minority Congress government.

Talking to the media after the meeting, West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu said, ''Since the Congress does not have the numbers, we will try to have the numbers. By tonight, the picture would be clear,'' he said.

Many Opposition leaders, who are engaged in consultations with each other, expressed optimism that they would be able to keep their flock together and form a new government shortly.

Janata Dal president Sharad Yadav also met the President, and told him that his party would support any secular government at the Centre.

Yadav said the decision was taken by the political affairs committee of the party which met yesterday. The party is against a mid-term poll.

He said elections would not end the political impasse as no 'wave' was visible. A solution would have to be found from within the existing Lok Sabha, he added.

Referring to the statement by his party colleague Ram Vilas Paswan yesterday, Yadav denied that there were any differences within the party.

Asked whether the Janata Dal would support a secular government led by the Congress, he refused to commit himself, saying that the resolution contained everything.

Asked whether the party would join an alternative government, he said the decision would be taken at an appropriate time.

BJP, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham leaders also met the President and told him the Third Front should not be called to form a government as such experiments have always proved to be a failure.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been meeting her party's members of Parliament from various states since last night and ascertaining their views on the emerging scenario.

Additional reportage: UNI

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