Karat rules out future alliance with Congress

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 31 (UNI) CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today ruled out an alliance with the Congress even after general elections due next year.

''People will call it opportunism if we support a Congress government once again,'' Mr Karat told Malayalam television channel 'Kairali TV.' The Left was looking for the emergence of a combination that would not just reduce the country's politics to a Congress-led alliance and a BJP-led alliance, he said.

Replying to questions over Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati being projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate for such a combination, he said, ''We don't look at it in terms of individuals being projected as Prime Minister.'' ''Our party's understanding of the Third Alternative is not some combination to fight elections. The Third Alternative has to be in terms of policies and programmes,'' he added.

However, he said the party had not considered the UNPA led by the Samajwadi Party to be a Third Alternative. ''We told them, this is not the alternative we are thinking of. The Third Alternative means something more stable, something more based on a programme,'' he said.

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