New Delhi, May 16: RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale today met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and extended his support to her candidature for the Prime Minister's post.
Athawale wanted congress' ally and NCP chief Sharad Pawar to be made deputy Prime Minister in the new government. "I conveyed full support to her prime ministership" and that "the common minimum programme should address the problems faced by Dalits", he told reporters after his meeting with Gandhi at her residence here. Athawale told Gandhi that Pawar should be made Deputy Prime Minister and co ordinator of the secular front for the stability and longevity of the government.
He suggested that all congress allies and supporting parties including the left and Samajwadi Party should join the Congress-led government. Athawale, leader of the one-member RPI(A) in the Lok Sabha, and a pre-poll ally of the Congress-led coalition, also demanded a cabinet berth in the new government saying it would strengthen the alliance as his party was present in 24 states in the country. Athawale has been invited for the evening meeting of Congress and its allies to finalise the CMP. He would also attend the dinner to be hosted by Gandhi.
Bureau Report