Karnataka Assembly Elections 2013: Congress, Left can co-operate, says AK Antony

Defence minister AK Antony said there were areas of co-operation between Left and Congress over issues concerning the larger interests of the country and that would continue.

Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: Defence minister AK Antony, a key strategist of the Congress, heading the AICC sub-group on pre-poll pacts said that ‘Left is not untouchable’. However at the same time he ruled out any possibility of entering into an electoral alliance with the Left. This comes from the senior Congress leader ahead of the May 5 Karnataka Assembly Elections. A pre-poll ‘understanding’ between the Congress and the Left may end all possibilities of a third front. This may also compel anti-Congress parties outside the NDA like the BJD, Telugu Desam, INLD and a faction of Dravadian parties to rework poll strategies, including pre-poll alliances. Soon after the pullout of TMC and the DMK of the Congress-led UPA government, Antony’s statement in Kottayam on Saturday that the Left was not ‘untouchable` is a crucial indication of things to come. However, Antony added, "In states like West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, the Left and Congress are fighting each other. So, there is no question of a pre-poll alliance. I cannot say what will happen after the elections." Antony further said that there were areas of co-operation between Left and Congress over issues concerning the larger interests of the country and that will continue.