Amidst reports of the National Democratic Alliance trying to reach out to the Lok Janshakti Party, party chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said he will not allow the 'lotus to bloom' at the Centre at any cost.
Ruling out any possibility of supporting a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Paswan told PTI, "We will not support the BJP at any cost to form a government and will make all efforts to ensure that a secular government is formed."
Meanwhile, Janata Dal - United chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh today called up Paswan. They, as well as BJP's Rajya Sabha member Najma Heptullah, had also called up Paswan two days back when a fire had broken out in his residence.
LJP secretary general Abdul Khaliq dismissed any possibility of his party switching over to the NDA and downplayed the issue of NDA leaders calling up Paswan. "They called up to inquire about the fire incident. No politics should be read into it," he said.
Also, Paswan said that not only the LJP, but even the SP and the RJD would jointly chalk out plans on forming a secular government. Asked if he would remain in the UPA, he said there were two possibilities that could emerge.
"If the UPA can get majority, there will be no problem. The other scenario is the UPA does not get majority. In that situation, we three parties in the Fourth Front would jointly take a decision on the methodology of forming a secular government," he stated.
Asked whether the results would have been better if the UPA allies had fought the polls jointly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Paswan said, "The Congress preferred to contest the elections alone in the two states. But even then, our results will be good."
"We will not allow the BJP to form a government at any cost....to prevent communal forces from coming to power," he added.
If the UPA secured a majority, the Congress would definitely have the upper hand, he added. "At this stage, we want to clarify that the LJP, RJD and SP will take decision as a bloc and not as individual parties. The SP is not a part of UPA till now. But it will play and important role in forming the next government," he said.
Regarding the relationship with the Left Front, Paswan said it was not bad, but cordial. "We have been with them in the government in the past," he added.
