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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, OCT 12: The Maharashtra units of four political parties, including Samajwadi Party (SP) have announced the formation of a new State-level political front on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference here, Amar Singh, general secretary of Samajwadi Party, said 11 newly elected MLAs of the new group are scheduled to meet late at night to decide on their future strategy. The constituent member parties are Peasants and Workers Party (5), Janata Dal (Secular), Samajwadi Party and CPM with two MLAs each.
The new group will support secular forces and work against the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, said Singh adding that PWP has played a major role in the formation of the new group.
Singh said his party would be happy if Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an ally of Samajwadi Party, and Congress struck an alliance to form the next government in the State keeping the Shiv Sena-BJP out of power. He felt that the NCP and Congress should sort out their differences over issues like chief ministership and other postswhich will only help Sena-BJP alliance.
In reply to a question whether the NCP will support the Sena-BJP alliance if talks with the Congress fail, Singh said that his party would snap all ties with the NCP immediately. He claimed that Congress president Sonia Gandhi's charisma has failed to get votes for her party.
``Only because of Laloo Prasad Yadav, Jayalalitha and Prakash Ambedkar, Congress managed to cross the 100-mark in parliamentary elections,'' he added.
Singh further said thespian Dilip Kumar, who campaigned for Congress nominees in the recently concluded elections, should retire from politics. He alleged that Kumar had indirectly helped the BJP since he campaigned without any seriousness.
Meanwhile, SP State unit chief Kisan Deshmukh has resigned from his post owning moral responsibility of party's defeat in the recently held elections in Maharashtra, Singh said adding that Deshmukh's resignation has been accepted. He announced Deshmukh has been replaced by Nagnath Naikwadi.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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