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Sonia Says She Could Opt Out of Prime Ministerial Race
Nilofar Suhrawardy
Agencies, Arab News
NEW DELHI, 29 December 2003 — Congress president Sonia Gandhi indicated yesterday she would not necessarily be a prime ministerial candidate if her party entered a pre-poll alliance with like-minded forces.
Secular parties should come together and let the electorate decide who should become the prime minister, she said at a press conference in Bombay.
“This issue will be decided later by the people of India,” she said.
“If we want to defeat the anti-secular forces, then all of us should put aside our differences to form a compact alliance,” Sonia contended.
The statement signaled a significant shift in Sonia’s stance. It did not rule her out of the race but would make her more acceptable to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Samajwadi Party, both of which have reservations over her foreign origin.
The NCP, in fact, was formed when its leader Sharad Pawar walked out of the Congress on the issue.
The Congress and the NCP, which rule Maharashtra in a coalition, have indicated they were not averse to a pre-poll alliance ahead of next year’s general elections.
In the past, the Congress has only entered post-poll alliances.
Sonia confirmed the alliance moves at the press conference. She even indicated the NCP could return to the fold, but this was immediately shot down.
“There is no question of merging with the Congress. We can consider an alliance with the party,” said NCP leader Praful Patel.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python (Alquds, 1/25/03. |
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