HYDERABAD: The CPM believes that the efforts to float an anti-BJP front at the national level ahead of elections might not work since all successful fronts in the past materialised only after the elections and not before. Speaking to the media here on Sunday after the conclusion of CPM’s three-day Central Committee meeting, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that this was on account of people’s varying perception of political parties in different States. At the State level, the CPM was striking alliances with parties that have an ideological affinity with it to build an anti-BJP formation. This was the approach the party has adopted in the five States that are going to the polls in February-March. The ultimate goal was to defeat the BJP at any cost.
“Historically, only post-poll alliances at the national level formed the governments. That was the case with United Front, UPA-I, NDA, Janata Party, which came to power defeating Indira Gandhi in 1977 elections,” he said. He, however, said that discussions would take place even before elections but national-level strategies would come into play only after the elections. Not ruling out possible alliances with Congress, he said that at the State-level, Congress had aligned with Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra and pointed out that in Assam, CPM and Congress did have a pre-poll alliance. He made it clear that the party would form an alliance with like-minded parties strong enough to defeat BJP in their states — like RJD in Bihar and SP in UP. When asked about a possible alliance with TRS in the 2023 Assembly elections in Telangana, he said that the party would cross the bridge when it gets there, depending on the prevailing political situation at that time. Criticising the NDA government for its all-round failure in managing the pandemic, pushing the economy into a crisis, triggering galloping unemployment, runaway inflation and widespread hunger and poverty, the CPM leader said what was happening was ‘looting of the people’ across the country.
Observing that the BJP was staring at defeat in UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab, he felt that the saffron party may use all the methods to pressurise and intimidate the voters in those States. He said that he had appealed to the Election Commission of India to fulfil its constitutional mandate to conduct free and fair elections. CPM State secretary T Veerabhadram said that it looked like Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao still has a soft corner for BJP as his attacks only focused on the issues like paddy procurement and agricultural laws. He felt that the Chief Minister would have to be straightforward and declare his stance on the national issues, and give a call to defeat BJP at the national level, which could make his stand more credible.
KCR meeting Left leaders was a loyalty test: BJP
BJP chief spokesperson K Krishna Saagar Rao described the CM’s meeting with leaders of Communist parties on Saturday as a ‘loyalty test’ that he needed to pass in order to be accepted into the anti-Modi group nationally. The BJP leader said that the Chief Minister, who has been facing serious trust deficit with the anti-BJP forces, was desperately trying to undercut that deficit. “This has exposed his intent to join a front against BJP in the next general elections,” he said.