THE CPM will not offer any support to the Congress to form a government at the Centre, party general secretary Prakash Karat announced, in a rather significant move on Tuesday.
His party would leave it to Congress leaders to decide whether they would support a Third Front government, Karat added, speaking at a press conference at the Kolkata Press Club.
The CPM leader, meanwhile, refused to comment on whether West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was the Left’s prime ministerial candidate.
“There is no reason to speculate about names at the current juncture,” Karat said.
His party was not projecting any individual as its nominee for the country’s top job at present, he added, and would “seriously consider” participating in the government only after the Lok Sabha polls.
“It is up to every party to project whoever they want as prime minister. The Bahujan Samaj Party projected Mayawati as prime minister even before the UP Assembly polls. But the BSP has now said the matter will be decided after the election. I am not saying any name,” Karat said at the Kolkata Press Club.
Karat meanwhile admitted that his party would face a tough situation in Bengal because of the Trinamool-Congress alliance. “We have to overcome the odds. We will get a decisive majority here,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Karat meanwhile admitted that his party would face a tough situation in Bengal because of the Trinamool-Congress alliance. “We have to overcome the odds. We will get a decisive majority here,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Taking a dig at PM Manmo-han Singh, Karat said that Pranab Mukherjee would have been the Left’s choice for the country’s top job.