Left chants defeat Cong, defeat BJP

If in the 2004 elections, the CPI(M)’s thrust was on defeating the BJP, it has plunged into the campaign for the coming assembly and LS polls with a ‘Defeat Cong, defeat BJP’ slogan, writes Jatin Gandhi.

If in the 2004 elections, the CPI(M)’s thrust was on defeating the BJP and communal forces, it has plunged into the campaign for the coming assembly and Lok Sabha polls with a ‘Defeat Congress, defeat BJP’ slogan, a party politburo member told HT on Monday.

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“Combined with the price rise, we want to take the issue of betrayal of the nation on the nuclear deal to the people. We want to tell them why we will not align with the Congress any more,” the CPI(M) leader said. “In the given situation, we will also talk about how MPs were bought for winning the trust vote.”

The new campaign will also focus on the need for promoting the Third Front.

The CPI(M) and other Left parties have planned over 100 public meetings against the Congress-led UPA government on the India-US nuclear deal. And the focus will be on states where UPA allies have a lot at stake.

The CPI(M)’s central leaders, from party general secretary Prakash Karat to all politburo members to several Central Committee members and MPs have a number of public meetings lined up in these states.

Politburo members Sitaram Yechury, W.R. Vardharajan and Brinda Karat will address meetings in Tamil Nadu this week. In all, 12 are planned in TN, where the DMK is in power. In Maharashtra, the CPI(M) is organising 18 rallies, where, the NCP-Congress alliance is in power. Another 15 rallies are being held in Delhi. On July 11, the party’s central leaders will be in Patna.

“In the last election, wherever we had the numbers, we gave the message that we are supporting the Congress. This time around, the message we want to give out is that we are against it,” a politburo member said.