New Delhi: Amidst indications of early Lok Sabha polls, efforts to cobble together a secular front have gained momentum with senior Opposition leaders holding talks to consolidate the anti-NDA (National Democratic Alliance) votes.

Following his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week, Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan held a lengthy discussion with veteran Marxist leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet last night on ways to prevent a split in secular votes.

Paswan told reporters today (Jan 5, 2004) that Surjeet was of the view that there were "certain difficulties" in forging a secular front as ground realities varied from State to State.

Hence, the need of the hour for the Opposition parties was to adopt a "practical approach" to fulfil the objective of defeating the BJP-led NDA, Surjeet said.

He also said that while there could be pre-poll understandings with certain parties in some States, post-poll tie-ups too could not be totally ruled out.

The meeting between Surjeet and Paswan comes close on the heels of a similar exercise undertaken by the CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) leader with Gandhi recently.

Efforts were also on to rope in Samajwadi Party led by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, but with the latter likely to go it alone, Opposition parties appeared to be unhappy.