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West Bengal Assembly polls: Congress tieup gets CPM clearance

The CPI(M) on Thursday indicated it is ready to have a tacit alliance with Congress in the forthcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal as it declared it will join hands with all secular democratic force

The CPI(M) on Thursday indicated it is ready to have a tacit alliance with Congress in the forthcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal as it declared it will join hands with all secular democratic forces to defeat the ruling Trinamul Congress in the erstwhile Left bastion. The CPI(M) central committee (CC) has asked the state committee to work out the modalities of joining forces with Congress to defeat Trinamul. Once the state committee formulates its strategy, it will be vetted by the party politburo which has been empowered by the CC to clear the move.

A large section of the CPI(M) leaders from Bengal have been keen to join hands with the Congress even as the Kerala unit of the party was opposed to the idea of West Bengal committee joining hands with Congress, against which the CPI(M) will be contesting polls in the southern state. The two states are likely to go to polls in April-May this year.

The decision to join forces with all the secular democratic forces, including Congress, to “isolate BJP’’ and oust TMC in the state is being cited as a decision that flows from the party line adopted at the Party Congress and the plenum that followed where the CPI(M) reviewed the reasons for its electoral failures and discussed ways to revive the party in its erstwhile strongholds.

“In order to restore democracy and foil communal polarisation by BJP... That is the main task we think can be achieved only by ousting TMC from government in West Bengal.

“In order to achieve this objective, the CPI(M) will seek support of all democratic forces in Bengal,” party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said without naming Congress.

The Bengal Congress leadership on Thursday welcomed the CPI(M) central committee’s statement.

A visibly upbeat state Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury said the CPI(M) central committee correctly comprehended the sentiments of its workers and the people in Bengal. “Well, the oppressed masses of Bengal and the workers of both the Left Front and Congress have already made up their mind for an anti-TMC alliance. I am sure even our central leadership will not ignore the wishes of the party workers in the state,” Mr Chowdhury said.

He said the CPI(M) West Bengal committee will work out a proposal on having understanding with other “democratic” forces and on the basis of the same party politburo will take a final decision in this regard.

“The CC during the meeting has authorised politburo to take a final call in this regard,” Mr Yechury said and added CPI(M) has not begun negotiations or discussions with “anybody outside the Left Front” in West Bengal as yet.

“We want to strengthen people’s unity in West Bengal and to do that, we are appealing to all democratic forces to co-operate,” he said sending out a message to other parties.

In Kerala, Yechury said, Left Democratic Forces (LDF) led by CPI(M) is already in the middle of finalising preparations to “defeat” United Democratic Front (UDF) headed by Congress.

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