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Sonia to contest LS poll

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said that she would contest the Lok Sabha elections. However, she has not disclosed the name of the constituency.

She was not worried about the 'foreigner issue' being raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party against her. ''Whether they raise it or not does not worry me. The people will decide. They (BJP) don't know what stuff I am made of,'' she told Star TV.

When asked in Allahabad as to what she thought of news reports that the BJP had dropped the 'foreigner issue', she said she was not convinced that the BJP had given up the issue.

''Kargil calmed them down a bit,'' she said.

She said the Congress would be able to mobilise the votes of the minority communities in the coming elections.

''From all accounts I have from workers and institutions, the Muslim community is coming back to us and placing its trust in us.'' This was largely at the expense of the Samajwadi Party, she added.

She said no agreement had been reached on any strategic tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress had been talking to many parties and leaders in Uttar Pradesh, she said.

While the Congress would have liked to stick to all the criteria introduced in the 1998 assembly elections for selecting candidates, in the general elections it may have to 'compromise a little', she said.

When asked to elaborate, she said in Uttar Pradesh, ''even candidates who may have lost twice in the past may be given tickets. The reason why such candidates lost was not necessarily linked to their not being good candidates.''

''We would like to be able to fight the elections on our own. But we do not know whether it will be possible.''

Taking a strong line against power-sharing at the Centre, she said this had not been successful in the past. ''With such an experience, we don't think coalitions can give a stable government,'' she said.

UNI

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