His party propped up the UPA government for four years. But these days, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat is busy putting together a non-Congress
and non-BJP formation. In an interview to Akshaya Mukul, he says the Third Front will gain in strength after elections. He also ruled out the Left doing business with the Congress again. Excerpts.

Do you think this is the most open-ended election in recent times?

It will be a three-way contest though people expected it to be two-way. Emergence of third force has opened up the elections. The second significant feature is that the coming together of non-Congress, non-BJP parties will continue after election. Third Front, still in the making, will be complete after polls.

Do you see NDA and UPA falling apart after elections?

That is connected to the emergence of the Third Front. There are partners in UPA and NDA which are realising the potential of non-BJP, non-Congress alliance. UPA is bound to suffer the most as it is primarily an alliance of secular parties along with Congress. It has already happened to some extent with RJD-LJP fighting separately in Bihar and PMK joining AIADMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu.

Will Third Front partners stick together after polls?

Contrary to any trend towards disintegration, there is a momentum which will bring non-Congress secular parties together.

There is talk that many UPA allies are in touch with you. For instance, NCP…

NCP has already stated that its understanding with the Congress is in Maharashtra. In other states, it has arrangements with other secular parties. In Orissa, it has an alliance with BJD just like Left parties.

What if the 2004 election result gets repeated? Is there still a chance of Left supporting Congress-led government?

Results of 2004 will not be repeated in 2009. We are working for the defeat of Congress. There is no question of any understanding with Congress to help them form government.

Do you rule out reaching out to RJD and LJP?

We have not identified any specific parties. We have issued a general appeal to secular parties to come on board if they believe in these four principles — adoption of pro-people economic measures, firm defence of secularism, independent foreign policy and strengthening of federalism.

But is Left front itself cohesive?

Left parties are united not only in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura but we are also fighting unitedly all over India. We have highlighted that because of Left’s role, the financial sector has been protected and we have not faced the worst of the global crisis.

Will Singur and Nandigram impact West Bengal elections?

I think the popular verdict in West Bengal will no doubt take into account the state government’s record, but given this is a Lok Sabha election, politically conscious people of the state will consider national policies. Here choice is for them to support CPM and Left or Congress and TMC. For the substantial minority population of Bengal, CPM’s role in defence of their rights will also be an important factor.

What about Kerala?

The two important elections in Kerala since 2004 have shown growing support for LDF. We do not think there will be a major reversal of this trend.

Is the Indo-US nuclear deal an election issue?

We are countering Congress propaganda that through the nuclear deal, they will provide electricity to each village. Electricity from US imported nuclear plants will be expensive. The new government should review the decision to buy 10,000 MW from American nuclear power plants. It will mean not operationalising the heart of the nuclear deal. New government should renegotiate 123 agreement and no commercial contract should be signed with US companies.