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Congress, UF have to come together after poll: V P Singh

Former prime minister V P Singh has said the Congress and the United Front would be forced to come together after the election.

Though the general election would see them opposing each other, the post-poll scenario will find them confronting the communal forces unitedly, he said.

This is not the ideal situation. Ideally, the UF should occupy the ruling slot while the Congress sits in the Opposition, he said.

Stressing that such a compromise is inevitable, he said the secular parties should remember that the Bharatiya Janata Party would be on the prowl again after the election. It may try to engineer defections, like in Uttar Pradesh, to form a government at the Centre.

The former prime minister also foresaw a pivotal role for the regional and Left parties in the post-poll political scenario.

He, however, said it was premature to come to any conclusion that the BJP has had a headstart in the forthcoming election.

Asked whether the Left parties would continue to oppose the Congress participation in a UF government in case of a hung Parliament, Singh said the Left parties should realise the ground realities, though they are wedded to their ideology. ''I am sure the Left leadership would take into account the changing political scenario and adopt a flexible stand,'' he said.

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