Communists to clash against each other in AP

Hyderabad, June 22 (UNI) Finding themselves in rival camps, the CPI, which continued to sail with the ruling Congress, is pitted against the CPI(M) which had joined hands with the opposition TDP, for the two-phase Panchayat polls in Andhra Pradesh to be held on June 28 and July two.

It would be a show of strength between the two left parties in 13 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies(ZPTCs) in the districts of Khammam, Adilabad, Rangareddy, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Guntur.

Deciding to continue its friendship with the Congress, the CPI struck an understanding to contest 30 ZPTC seats in nine districts and decided to contest on its own in 38 more seats in 12 districts and withdrew from contest in two districts as there was no compatibility with the Congress at the local level.

On the other hand, the CPI(M) was successful in making electoral adjustments with the TDP to contest 101 ZPTC seats in 17 districts and assured of support for the Zilla Parishad Chairman's post in the districts of Khammam and Nalgonda. The Marxist party was contesting on its own for 36 other ZPTC seats in five districts where no no understanding could be reached with the bourgeois party.

While the CPI(M) State Secretary and Politburo member B V Raghavulu rejected any understanding with the CPI to avoid a contest since the last date for withdrawal of nominations was already over, his CPI counterpart K Narayana maintained that if there was any proposal from the other side, the party would certainly consider it.

Talking to reporters, Mr Raghavulu alleged that the Congress was treating the Marxist party as its main enemy and ''intentionally'' allocated seats to the CPI in its strongholds to create a wedge between the two left parties.

Justifying the CPI(M)'s poll strategy to align with the TDP, which it had stoutly opposed in its long rule, the Marxist leader said ''Congress is all out to crush us politically and has foisted various cases against party leaders, including myself. The number of cases in the last two years are more when compared to those during the nine-year TDP regime''.

''Moreover, we have burnt our fingers continuing the understanding for the Municipal polls with the Congress, which allotted seats to us on the one hand and gave signals to its partymen to contest as rebels'', he explained.

Differing with the Marxists' perception, CPI National Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said ''we want to continue our understanding with the Congress reached for the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls''.

On Congress rebels entering the fray for seats allocated to the CPI, he lamented that ''Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and Pradesh Congress President K Keshava Rao are unable to rein in their partymen even in places where an understanding has been reached''.

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