Marxists may back Congress post election

The Left parties may have snapped ties with the United Progressive Alliance over the Indo-US nuclear deal on an acrimonious note, but the Communist Party of India-Marxist is not averse to supporting the Congress-led coalition after the next elections provided 'they do not betray it like this time'.

'They can't hoodwink the Left at every stage'

Senior CPI-M Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said the present 'experience will be a shadow' in the ties but did not rule out Left extending support to Congress based on the 'circumstances and policies' it follows.

'Left wants to humiliate Congress'

'It (support) depends on the policies they follow. If they follow a CMP without betraying like now,' Yechury told Karan Thapar in CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate programme.

'This experience (Government going to IAEA) will (however) be a shadow,' he said, adding that the Left extended support to the UPA four years ago based on the common minimum programme, which 'did not include the nuclear deal'.

'Reforms are required, but not the type initiated by the Congress and BJP'

CPI general secretary A B Bardhan had, three days ago said, the Left parties will not be averse to supporting Congress in the bigger fight against communal forces in future but indicated that it would not support a government led by Manmohan Singh.

He said there would be 'occasions' in the future when the Left parties will have to fight against communal forces together with Congress and similar 'secular' parties.

"He (Dr Singh) will not always be the Prime Minister. I am talking about the Congress as an institution. I am talking of secular parties. We will have to deal with them," Bardhan said.