Calcutta, Aug. 26: Foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee has apparently asked state Congress leaders to prepare for a general election next year.

A state leader quoted him as saying that the Lok Sabha polls could coincide with the rural polls slated for May 2008.

“Going by the developments, it appears that the elections will be held next year. And, we will forge an alliance with Mamata Banerjee,” former state party chief Somen Mitra told a rally in Murshidabad.

Citu president M.K. Pandhe today again threatened to topple the government in Delhi, though his Bengal comrades ruled out a snap poll.

“The Congress has jumped the red light. But it can still avert an accident by going slow,” MP Mohammad Salim said.

Others echoed politburo member Sitaram Yechury, who had said the Left only wanted the government to press the “pause” button on the deal.

“If Delhi goes ahead with it, we’ll withdraw support, even if our numbers come down (the next time),” Pandhe said.

“This is his personal opinion. Our general secretary, Prakash Karat, has neither spoken about withdrawing support nor a mid-term poll,’’ said MP and state committee member Amitava Nandi.

Bengal CPM secretary Biman Bose told the state committee “not to be worried” about Pandhe’s comments as “they do not reflect the party’s position”.

However, explaining the politburo’s rejection of the deal with the US, he asked the committee to prepare for “all eventualities, if polls become inevitable despite the party’s best efforts to avoid it”.