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Front partners to have common as well as separate manifestoes

The United Front's common manifesto promised by the combine's core committee will list the 18-month-old government's achievements and its unfinished agenda. However, UF constituents are free to issue a separate manifesto. The common manifesto will not mention issues the partners do not agree on, like the economic reforms.

A B Bardhan, the Communist Party of India's general secretary, told Rediff On the NeT, "The common manifesto will show that the UF is a cohesive unit and that as a declaration of intent the manifesto will carry weight among the voters."

The UF, by issuing a common manifesto, intends to gain the upper hand over the Bharatiya Janata Party which is not ready to have a common minimum programme with its allies before the poll, Front leaders say.

The manifesto will be broadly on the lines of the common minimum programme which the coalition partners had released earlier.

"We will refer to the economy but not to any specific issues," a UF leader said. The specific issues involve the liberalisation process on which the Left and centrist parties have opposing views.

The Left Front has come out with a common manifesto for the first time, and a common manifesto for the UF immediately afterwards is seen as a Left-initiated move.

It would be the Left which would make most of the compromises, for the Tamil Maanila Congress leader and Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram's economic policies are anathema to the Communists.

"The TMC is not superior to other constituents of the UF. There are problems initially and there would be some in the future also. But they had agreed with us when the question of oil pricing came up," CPI national secretary Doraiswamy Raja told Rediff On The NeT.

The UF's attempt would be to identify the areas of agreement and to work on it instead of taking the path of confrontation.

But a common manifesto for the UF does not mean that other parties would not issue their own manifestoes.

The regional parties, which include the Asom Gana Parishad, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Telugu Desam and the TMC would have their own manifestoes which could vary with the common one.

United Front leaders indicated that they would not try to restrain Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav in his efforts to have a tacit understanding with the Congress in UP.

When pointed out that Mulayam Singh may concede five or six seats to the Congress, UF leaders said the Congress is not a threat to the Front in UP. "So if Mulayam tries to help the Congress in a few seats there is no harm. Moreover it would only help us by defeating the BJP."

One reason why the UF is not very keen to come out with the Bofors names at this juncture, it is said, is that it would only benefit the BJP by weakening the already weak Congress.

Though Front leaders say the Swiss government would never send the second set of documents before the election, UF leaders are mum about why they have not proceeded against those against whom they have evidence.

EARLIER REPORT:
UF won't release Bofors papers: Gujral

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