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Congress will work out a common minimum programme with allies, says Pawar

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sharad Pawar today hinted that the Congress might initiate a process of formulating a minimum agreed programme with like-minded parties after the assembly results from Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram are known.

At the same time, Pawar reiterated that the Congress would not try to topple the Vajpayee-led government but it would not shun the task of providing a viable alternative in the event of the BJP allies deciding to abandon ''a sinking ship'' after the election results in the four states.

Pawar dismissed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement of a possible mid-term polls as a ploy to keep the constituent parties together under one umbrella.

Vajpayee's statement seems to have engendered from his desire to keep the constituent parties intact, Pawar said while speaking informally to reporters in Pune this evening.

While expressing confidence that the Congress would win in all the four states, Pawar said it would not come as a surprise to him if the Congress won by a two-thirds majority in Delhi and Rajasthan.

UNI

Assembly Election '98

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