Karunakaran hints at a surprise for Cong

NEW DELHI: NCP leader and veteran Kerala politician K Karunakaran, who is meeting a cross-section of political leaders in the Capital, has hinted at the possibility of changes in national politics after the upcoming UP assembly polls. Mr Karunakaran, on his first visit to the Capital after two years, is at the center of the NCP’s third-front ripple after his talks with disgruntled Congressmen Mr Natwar Singh and Mr Bhajan Lal and SP leader Amar Singh on Monday.

The former Kerala CM added to this tally on Tuesday by meeting RLD leader Ajit Singh. “UP elections will have repercussions on national politics,” Mr Karunakaran said in response to questions from mediapersons. He also added the impact of the results would be felt during the presidential elections due later this year.

These parleys come in the wake of the Shiva Sena’s overtures towards the NCP in Maharashtra. Though the NCP turned down Mr Bal Thackeray in public to scotch speculation, it was Mr Sharad Pawar’s statement about the NCP being ready for an alliance with anyone in Maharashtra including the Shiva Sena that started the episode.

Now, with it becoming apparent that many parties, including those in the UPA, have begun explorations keeping in mind the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Mr Karunakaran could well be doing Mr Pawar’s bidding in keeping the pot simmering through his many meetings. The 88-year old leader, however, made it clear that if it was a choice between the Congress and the BJP, the NCP would always back the former. After his meeting with Mr Natwar Singh, the Kerala politician had said that they ( the disgruntled leaders) were strengthening the “real Congress”.

Interestingly, Mr Amar Singh is said to have conveyed to Mr Karunakaran during his meeting with him on Monday that no third-front could be possible without the CPM. Mr Karunakaran has emerged as a harsh critic of the CPM-led government in Kerala and Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan despite the NCP being a constituent of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). “The chief minister has become a nobody. Kerala needs a strong chief minister,” Mr Karunakaran said. Coming back to the UP polls, Mr Karunakaran was of the view that the SP would be the single largest party in UP. He also shot down the suggestion that BSP-BJP combination would come to power after the polls.

Mr Karunakaran, who has been careful not to antogonise the Gandhis through his statements lately, also held that the Congress would “not find it easy” to “get back” to its former position in the state given the shades of caste and communal peculiarities there. He said this in response to a question about Gandhi scion Rahul’s recent road-show through Western UP. Asked about the BJP’s seeming resurgence after the Punjab elections, Mr Karunakaran said the BJP had an alliance with the Akali Dal there and hence it was not a sign of the saffron outfit being able capturing power on its own.