Rahul Gandhi has accepted poll defeat by ruling out tie-up with Third Front: Gurudas Dasgupta

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Friday claimed that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's reported preference to sit in the opposition rather than having a deal with the Third Front to form a government to prevent the BJP from doing so, is a clear indication that he has already accepted defeat in the 2014 general elections.

"It seems Rahul Gandhi has taken for granted that they are going to be defeated in these elections. It is out of a sense of defeatism and frustration that he might have said it. He is quite entitled to say what he has said. Whether Third Front will seek support from the Congress or vice-versa, is a remote question which is not to be discussed at the moment. The point is if Congress sits in the opposition is welcome, but it only speaks that how bitterly the Congress has alienated the masses and the sense of defeat has already creeped within the party," Dasgupta said.

Gandhi has reportedly ruled out extending the Congress Party's support to a Third Front, as he believes it is a recipe for a weak government and would instead prefer to sit in the opposition and overhaul his party.

This comes in contrast to the stand taken by some of senior party leaders, including cabinet ministers of the UPA, who have indicated recently that the Congress Party would be willing to back the Third Front or take their help to cobble up a government in order to keep the BJP out.