Cong Not Ready For Ls Polls

The Congress party yesterday said it is not yet ready for mid-term Lok Sabha elections but claimed that the it would gain majority in the Assembly polls in Punjab next month.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesman V N Gadgil said that though the trend had started in favour of Congress since the last few months, the party was not prepared for Lok Sabha polls.

Certainly there is change in favour of the Congress...By and large better days are coming for Congress, he said.

On Assembly polls in Punjab, Gadgil said the party would form government in the state and the alliance partners in the state were being finalised.

Asked whether the United Front government was consulting the party on the Union budget to be presented next month, Gadgil said that there was no proposal to have any formal machinery for consultations. He said party policy on the issue has not been formally discussed.

The AICC spokesman , however, felt that since the Congress was supporting the U F government from outside, no formal consultations or machinery were necessary.

The consultation should be at the level of Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and Congress president Sitaram Kesari,the AICC spokesman said.