CPI(M) open to Bengal alliance with Congress

If the plan materialises, it would be the first formal seat adjustment pact between the Congress and the Left in West Bengal, where the two parties have been rivals till the 1990s.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or the CPI(M), announced on Saturday its inclination for a seat adjustment with the Congress in the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam, even as it is contesting against the Congress in Kerala.

CPI(M) activists hold flags and huge party symbol in an open rally at Bridge Parade Ground in Kolkata. (PTI File Photo)

If the plan materialises, it would be the first formal seat adjustment pact between the Congress and the Left in West Bengal, where the two parties have been rivals till the 1990s.

“In West Bengal, the CPIM and the Left Front will have an electoral understanding with all secular parties, including the Congress, which seek to defeat the BJP and the TMC. In Tamil Nadu, the CPIM will contest the elections as part of the DMK-led alliance. In Assam, the CPIM will contest the elections in cooperation with all secular opposition parties including the Congress to defeat the incumbent BJP government in the state, which is sharpening communal polarization, destabilizing social harmony and heaping miseries on the people,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury announced after the two day-long Central Committee meet.

CPI(M) politburo member Nilotpal Basu rejected claims of a unilateral move and said, “Don’t think we have decided it on our own. There is a strong signal from state Congress units for a joint fight against BJP-RSS.”