Sonia-Mulayam dinner presages post-poll deal

new delhi: a day after congress president sonia gandhi broke bread with arch rival samajwadi party leader mulayam singh yadav, signalling a cosying up between the two parties, the congress on tuesday was at pains to clarify that the dinner meeting has no bearing whatsoever on the up elections. the dinner for all opposition leaders hosted by cpm leader somnath chatterjee on monday is being seen in political circles as a first step towards a realignment of forces in the electorally-crucial state of up.the official word on the dinner meeting is that it was to bring about greater floor coordination among the opposition parties in parliament. observers, however, read deeper meaning into coming together of sonia and mulayam, who have not met after mulayam refused to support her prime ministerial bid in 1999 after the vajpayee government fell. the congress was quick to deny that the floor coordination in parliament would be extended outside. ''the dinner meeting...was intended to ensure floor coordination, nothing more, nothing less,'' congress spokesperson jaipal reddy said on tuesday. he asserted this proximity will not extend to up and there is no prospect of pre-poll alliance between the two parties. however, he sidestepped the question about a possible post-poll understanding between the two. ''as to what will happen at the end of the 21st century...i will have to consult arthur clarke,'' reddy parried. congress sources said mulayam has so far stayed away from the opposition meetings called by sonia as leader of opposition, but it would have been churlish of sonia to refuse chatterjee's invitation and only isolated the congress. chatterjee, it was noted, was working hard for a congress-sp rapproachment so that the opposition could unitedly take on the nda government in parliament. congress leaders say any whiff of a pre-poll alliance in up would be fatal for the congress. though the congress is not in a strong position, its state-wide 'parivartan yatras' have rejuvinated the organisation. ''any talk of a pre-poll alliance could well provoke our cadres to cross over to the samajwadi party,'' explained a congress leader. this would decimate the party and improve the sp's standing with the minorities, whom the congress too is wooing. the congress think-tank believes it would be better for the party to go it alone and try to win a good number of seats. in case of a hung assembly, the congress would be better placed to bargain with the sp, which would be forced to accept an alliance with the congress to keep the bjp out. mulayam's decision to attend chatterjee's dinner, according to sp sources, stems from the realisation that the sp may have to make a post-poll deal with the congress. as it is, the sp has softened towards the congress and stopped raking up sonia's foreign origin. sp spokesperson amar singh admitted on tuesday that the bjp will be their prime target in up. he, too, ruled out a pre-poll tie-up with the congress, but hastened to add: ''political rivalry does not mean personal animosity.''