Rahul reaches out to Left, Nitish

Rahul Gandhi today gave clear signals of working with the Left parties in the post-poll scenario, expressing confidence that the Communists would accept Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister and a Congress-led government.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday made strong overtures to National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Third Front partners. He appeared to seek allies for the Congress, envisaging a post-poll situation where Manmohan Singh emerges as prime minister again.

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Gandhi said the Congress was ready for post-poll alliances, reaching out to the Left and praising Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as well as Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu.

He said existing NDA allies like the Janata Dal (United) and former allies like J Jayalalithaa’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were looking for options. “The fight has gone out of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” the Amethi MP said at his first formal press conference after joining politics five years ago.