LDF, NCP leadership to decide on latter's place in Front

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 26 (UNI) The Democratic India Congress (Karunakaran), which would be merging with Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), today said a decision on the continuance of the NCP in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the state should be taken up by the LDF and the national leadership of the NCP.

''It is the LDF leadership which has to decide whether the NCP should continue in the Front. The NCP leadership has to give an opinion regarding its continuance. The DIC(K)'s merger with the NCP is without any conditions,'' DIC (K) president K Muraleedharan told reporters here after the party's executive meeting.

Asked if the NCP could stand without allying with any of the Fronts, he pointed out that there was no possibility of having an alliance with the UDF. ''All these would be decided only after the merger,'' he said.

He hinted that his party had benefitted more by working together with the LDF rather than with the UDF. Noting that all the party workers except a few, who had left the party,welcomed the merger, he said the merger was only a re-union of people with Congress culture and tradition. ''The merger also shows that the policies putforth by the DIC(K) had got a national recognition, he added.

The merger was possible only because we both had the same policies,'' he said.

Mr Muraleedharan said Mr Pawar would be present among others on the day of the merger, November 12.

Meanwhile, LDF Convenor Vaikom Viswam said the Front has not yet taken a decision or discussed the issue of accepting the merger of the DIC(K) with the NCP. But the CPI and the RSP, constituents in the LDf, had voiced their concern over NCP continuing in the Front once the DIC(K) merges with it.

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