Press Briefing Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Shri Mohan Prakash addressed the media today.

Shri Mohan Prakash said that polling for the 5th and final phase of the 15th Lok Sabha elections (where a total of 86 seats are up for grabs) was coming to an end today at 5pm. He added that the BJP had a presence in 33 of these seats and in the remaining 53 seats neither the BJP nor the NDA had any significant presence. Shri Mohan Prakash said that after the polling in all the five phases, it was evident that the Congress-led UPA would form the next Government.

Shri Mohan Prakash said that a couple of days ago, the NDA had conducted a photo session in Ludhiana since the NDA was losing ground in Punjab. If one excluded the 14 seats of Uttar Pradesh (of the above mentioned 33 seats in the last phase), one would find that there was a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP in the remaining seats. He added that as per the trends available in the 5th and last phase of polling, it was clear that the BJP was losing ground from places where it had an impact and the electorate was leaning towards the Congress party.

On a question of Shri Digvijay Singh making a statement that there was a possibility of talking to the BSP, Shri Mohan Prakash said that if the need arises and if any offers are made to the Congress party, discussions will be held in that regard after the results are out on the 16th of May 2009.

To a further question on whether Mayawati was acceptable to the Congress party, Shri Mohan Prakash said that it would not be appropriate to comment on this issue at this moment.

To another question that the Congress party had already started discussions which was evident from Shri Kumaraswamy visiting Smt. Sonia Gandhi last night, Shri Mohan Prakash said that political parties always kept channels of communication open and this was a sign of healthy politics.

To another question as to what transpired between Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Kumaraswamy, Shri Mohan Prakash said that only Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Kumaraswamy would be in a position to enlighten one in this regard. Shri Mohan Prakash added that it was merely a formal meeting and nothing more than a courtesy visit. Shri Mohan Prakash further said that he did not wish to comment on the status of the Third Front or Fourth Front or any implications of this visit on them.

To a further question on wooing Mayawati, Shri Mohan Prakash clarified that the Congress party was not making any efforts in that direction since the party was confident that the Congress-led UPA would surely form the next government. Till the election results were out, there was no question of seeking support. He said that one would have to wait till the results were out.

To a question, Shri Mohan Prakash said that in this election there was a clear shift from caste and religion as the major election issues and the electorate had shown its disinterest for those parties whose existence was based on caste and religion. As a result of this, one would be surprised with the results in many of the states, which would be totally different from the predictions based on caste calculations.

To a question on Shri Amar Singh’s statement that Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav and Shri Ram Vilas Paswan would decide whom to support only after the 16th of May, Shri Mohan Prakash said that parties who were with the Congress party in a pre-poll alliance and in the UPA government would continue to be with them. He further said that the number of Lok Sabha MPs supporting the Prime Ministerial candidate was of consequence and not the number of parties showing up at the photo session in Ludhiana.

To a question on whether the Congress party would reward Shri Azam Khan for supporting the Congress candidate in Rampur, Shri Mohan Prakash said that he had no knowledge about such arrangements and if he came to know about it he would definitely share it with the media.

On a question relating to Shri Sharad Pawar being projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the NCP, Shri Mohan Prakash said that it was the parties in the NDA who were saying this and the picture would become clear on the 16th of May. He added that Shri Sharad Pawar has already said that NCP would be with the UPA.






(Tom Vadakkan)

Secretary, AICC