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Congress unlikely to form government: Nayanar

Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar on Tuesday said there was no guarantee the Congress would be able to form the government at the Centre.

He was replying to a reporter's query as to whether the Communist Party of India-Marxist would extend support to the Congress.

He said the Congress's chances could be ascertained only after knowing how many of its members would defect to the BJP.

"The BJP," Nayanar claimed, "had prepared the ground for horse-trading in New Delhi at least a week in advance."

Stating the Congress was responsible for the growth of the BJP, Nayanar said since it had succeeded in weaning away nearly 25 Congress MLAs to form the Kalyan Singh government in Uttar Pradesh recently, nothing could be said at this stage about the Lok Sabha.

He said the Congress owed an explanation as to what it had gained by forcing a mid-term election on the people. The Congress, which had withdrawn support because of the UF's refusal to dismiss the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ministers, was now silent about the DMK.

Nayanar is leaving for New Delhi to attend the Politburo meeting to discuss the party's stance.

He claimed the 'incumbency factor', which proved detrimental to ruling parties in several states, did not affect the performance of CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front.

Nayanar claimed the LDF had lost only one of the 10 seats it had won in the 1996 election. However, it had won all the three assembly seats for which by-elections were held simultaneously.

The LDF, he claimed, had once again demonstrated that it had found increased acceptance from the people.Though it lost a seat, it had polled more votes than the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

''The people of the state are solidly behind the government,'' Nayanar claimed.

Nayanar alleged that a section of the BJP had voted for the Congress in several constituencies, including in Thiruvananthapuram where former chief minister K Karunakaran was the Congress candidate.

Communal parties like the People's Democratic Party and the Indian National League had also openly supported the Congress, he said.

UNI

Elections '98

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