Jayalalitha to join People’s Front, not National Democratic Alliance

Our Political Bureau

New Delhi, June 6: TAMIL Nadu chief minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha on Wednesday said she would not join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and that all talks about it were entirely speculative. She, however, said her party had no hitch in maintaining relations with the People’s Front, floated recently by the Left parties and the Samajwadi Party, under the chairmanship of Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu.

"It (People’s Front) is making slow and steady progress. There is plenty of time and there is no hitch in our relations with it," she told the press after a meeting with Communist Party of India general secretary AB Bardhan at the party headquarters here.

According to Mr Bardhan, the AIADMK leader made it clear that there was "no question" of her joining the NDA, and that she described media reports to this effect as "mischievous", However, he added that she had admitted that she would to have deal with the Vajpayee government at the Centre.

Talking to the press, she maintained that her relations with the Left had been "very cordial both at the political and personal levels", adding she would speak to CPM general-secretary HS Surjeet very soon.

She also said she agreed with the concept of a third alternative. "We want it to come up", she said, but admitted that she did not go through its plans and programme. Mr Bardhan intervened to say that the Left Front would send her the People’s Front programme soon.

Stressing that "nothing is going to come in the way of our relations with the CPM and CPI", she virtually threw a hint to the NDA that it better watch out.

As for her alliance with the Congress in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, she was candid enough to admit that the alliances were made during the recent polls. "Now there is no alliance with any party," she added.

Among issues that came up for discussion with Mr Bardhan included banning of certain fundamentalist organisations in her state, the Cauvery waters dispute, agricultural prices, among others. She also raised these issues with home minister LK Advani earlier in the day.

She also met Planning Commission chief KC Pant reportedly to discuss the Annual Plan of the state, and she was told that it would be discussed before the state’s budget in August.