Srinagar: With an eye on next year's Lok Sabha elections and coming Assembly polls in four states, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on May 31 said her party was open to forging pre-poll alliance at the national as well as state level to defeat the communal forces.

Congress Chief Ministers have been asked to provide inputs and views on the issue, she said.

"I have said before and we are certainly open to coalition with secular parties to defeat communal forces," Gandhi told reporters after a two-day conclave of Congress Chief Ministers in Srinagar.

Gandhi, however, said the decision on pre-poll alliances would be based on inputs and views provided by respective Chief Ministers and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents.

She was replying to a barrage of questions on the party's poll strategy, which was finalised on May 30 night.

To a question as to how the party would deal with the "anti-incumbency factor" in the coming Assembly elections in four states – Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi – Gandhi said the respective Chief Ministers had taken necessary steps in this regard and "we are sure of overcoming it and retaining these states".

Asked whether the Congress would support the move in Uttar Pradesh to form an alternative government following withdrawal of support by 14-member Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine, she replied in the affirmative, saying it is possible.

"I have met Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh and RLD leader Ajit Singh. Nawal Kishore Sharma (Congress) has met the Governor seeking dismissal of Mayawati government, but there is no response so far. The situation is still fluid there," Gandhi said.

PTI