KOLKATA: Ruling out possibility of a united fight against the BJP in West Bengal in the next year’s Lok Sabha elections, the CPM’s state unit on Friday made it clear that the INDIA bloc’s narrative would be kept aside in its poll campaigns and the party would not seek votes in the name of the Opposition alliance in the state.
The party’s stance in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls comes three days after Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who attended the INDIA bloc’s meeting on Tuesday, said a three-way alliance among the Trinamool Congress, Congress and the Left Front was “possible” in Bengal.
The party said that it would fight against the BJP and the Trinamool. “The CPM will not ask for votes in the name of INDIA alliance in Bengal. Our party will contest against the TMC considering the Bengal’s ruling party as a rival,” said a CPM state committee member.
Referring to Mamata’s statement on “three-way alliance” in Bengal, the leader said, “She believes the CPM does not exist anymore in Bengal, but she is ready to go with us. But there will be no ties with her party in the state. There will be no understanding with political forces that are natural, potential or estranged allies of the BJP.”
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuri was present at the INDIA meeting on Thursday where seat-sharing among the Opposition allies was discussed as top priority. Asked what will be the party’s role in Bengal if the Congress responds to Mamata’s message of “three-way alliance” in the state, Yechury said that it would be suicidal for the grand old party in Bengal.