The Left has sought to justify its touch-me-not attitude toward the Congress(I) by invoking its official line - laid down by the CPI and CPI(M)'s highest decision-making bodies - of keeping "equi-distance" from the BJP and the Congress(I) ...

At one stage, the Left looked like going to the  elections with its "line" intact but the build-up of the pro- BJP "atmosphere" ... appears to have forced a rethinking in the Left parties, and there is now a tacit acknowledgement that it is more important to defeat the BJP than to expend energy on a party which, more or less, is down and out.

Though the "hardliners", especially in the CPI(M), are still against any "compromise" with the Congress(I), a more realistic view taking place is that all efforts be made to prevent a division in the anti-BJP vote even if it means tactical support to the Congress(I) in areas where it alone is in a position to defeat the BJP. There would be no formal understanding with the Congress(I) but where it is directly pitted against the BJP or its allies, the Left would not come in its way Senior Left leaders privately acknowledge that the political situation has radically changed since the line of "equi-distance" was adopted ... There is in fact a fear in the Left circles that the collapse of the Congress(I) is bad news for the secular/centrist forces as much of the political space vacated by it would be occupied by the BJP. It is this realisation that has forced the Left to take a hard-headed view of its "Congress strategy" for the elections.

Meanwhile, the issue of the CPI(M)'s participation in a U.F. government ... is wide open again.

Behind the CPI(M)'s thinking are two factors. First, its realisation that it cannot expect to play the arbiter at the Central level if it continues to remain outside the government.

Second, the pressure its functionaries exerted on the leadership, asking it to grab the levers of power but the most important is the realisation that even the talk of participation will help the party retain its grip on the swelling ranks of younger functionaries who often put exercising power before ideology ...

Nationwide, the Left's campaign would focus on political stability, the "danger" posed by divisive forces and its own commitment to give a human face to economic development.

As of now, the Left is the only U.F. constituent which seems to be in a position to retain its tally if not improved upon it, and in the event of a "hung" Parliament, its role would be crucial (Source: The Hindu, 11 January, 1998)