Left calls for Opposition unity to take on BJP after saffron party sweeps across state polls

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In  the wake of the BJP’s thumping election victory in four of the five states that had gone to the polls, the Left has called for opposition unity to take on the saffron party. With the Congress facing a leadership vacuum at the national level, the LDF feels that a union of all secular and democratic forces is the need of the hour.

Chief  Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday took a dig at the Congress through a veiled remark targeting senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. In his welcome address at the inauguration of the Valiyazheekkal bridge, Chennithala had termed it as the happiest moment  in his life. Later delivering the inaugural address, Pinarayi referred to the same and said, “It’s not just the happiest day for Chennithala. In fact, it’s the worst day for him,” in an apparent reference to the  party’s poll debacle in all five states. 

The  CPM leadership attributed the BJP victory in Uttar Pradesh to “intense communal polarisation, control over large sections of the media and  immense money power”. The BJP retained power with a reduced majority is how  they sought to put it. In its statement, the politburo said that in Punjab, the people voted for a decisive change, rejecting the two traditional parties. 

“Regional parties, Left forces and other national parties should unite and fight to oust the BJP from power. The Congress has failed to  come up with an alternative policy against the BJP. Instead, its  approach on many issues have favoured the saffron party,” said CPM state  secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The  CPI also called for opposition unity. “Lack of opposition unity has led  to the BJP’s victory. It seems the opposition parties will never learn from mistakes,” said CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran.