Left for united fight in Assembly polls

New Delhi, June 25 : The Left parties seem determined to put up a united fight in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls to prevent a split in the votes after they had a bitter experience in the Bihar elections.

The CPI(M) and the CPI had crossed swords during the Bihar Assembly elections last year. While the CPI(M) aligned with the RJD-Congress alliance, the CPI joined the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), leading to a split in votes.

In separate interviews to UNI, the CPI, CPI(M) and the Forward Bloc asserted that the pace of political developments at the national level in the next couple of months would determine the shape of the proposed anti-Congress, anti-BJP dispension, based on the Left and democratic programmes.

If the recent meetings between CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan are any pointers, the Left parties are quite ''hopeful'' that they would iron out their ''differences'' to ensure that the Bihar experience is not repeated in Uttar Pradesh, where the polls are expected to advance.

The CPI(M) is reported to be siding with Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and the CPI is said to join hands with Jan Morcha, floated by former Prime Minister V P Singh, which also has the tacit support of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Lok Janshakti party chief Ram Vilas Paswan.

The Left leaders also dwelt at length on what they termed as the emerging UP poltical scenario, Congress' growing alienation from the ''Aam Aadmi'' because of steep price hike, anti-people economic and foreign policy and mismanagement of the UPA coalition.

On re-emergence of the Third Front, Mr Bardhan said, ''Such a need is very much there and an alternative has to emerge which will have its own policies and programmes that are absolutely different from those of the Congress and the BJP.'' He said such attempts can only be made through common struggles and mass movements regarding peoples' issues in whcih the Left parties and other democratic forces came together.

''However, it would take sometime for a national alternative to emerge. The time recquired for this will be determined by the speed of political developments, '' he added.

On the political scenario in Uttar Pradesh, he said the situaion there at the moment is in a state of flux.

'' The outcome of the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh is likely to affect national political scenario more than other state...Hence the Left parties are discussing all aspects with each other,'' Mr Bardhan said.

''I have myself discussed it very recently with CPI(M) genneral secretary on two occasions. You know, we have differences of opinion in the approach to Uttar Pradesh polls. But I hope in the times to come , we will be able to arrive at certain conclusion.'' he added.

CPI(M) leader Rup Chand Pal said,'' This time the Left is committed not to let the secular and democratic votes split. Rather we are working towards consolidation of these forces in other Hindi belt states as well. Mr Basudev Achariya said the Left would set up anti-congress, anti-BJP unit in every state and expressed the hope that all the Left constituents will work together to achieve this goal.

On the Congress' growing alienation, CPI(M) leader Salim Mohammad said the way the Congress was going ahead with its agenda of privatisation and disinvestment and its pro- US foriegn policy, it was harming its own prospects.

In reply to a specific query, whether the Left being the supporting parties would have not to share the blame, the Left leaders quipped, '' This is why we have been demarcating oursleves sharply from the Congress, especially in these two spheres. We have been standing up in defence of interests of man on the street and the nation as a whole.

They said the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had not only failed to contain general price rise, which had hit the poor and the middle classes so badly, but had also failed in properly managing the coalition forces.

''The Congress is not ready to shun its old habit of taking unilateral actions and ignoring the views and opnions of the allies,'' they added.

Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas said until the third alternative emerges, the Left would continue to pressurise the government to implement pro- people provisions of the Common Minimum Programme.

UNI