'Regional parties important feature of politics'

New Delhi, May 20: The Left parties today visualised a radical change in Indian politics with regional outfits again staging a comeback on the national scene, but said they are yet to effectively cash in on the emerging scenario to lead a third alternative to the Congress and the BJP.

While citing several reasons for the delay in the realisation of a third alternative, the Left leaders were unanimous that their crucial outside support to the Manmohan Singh government has neither eroded their mass base nor damaged their reputation as a front that stands for ''aam aadmi''.

The observations of the leaders of the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc assumes special significance as the Congress-led UPA government completes three years in office on May 22.

In separate interviews to sources on the occasion of the third anniversary of the government, the Left leaders, however, said their biggest failure was not to make advancement in other states other than West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura even though the ''aam admi'' was thoroughly disillusioned with the discredited economic policies of the UPA and the NDA governments earlier.

The interviews revolved around three basic issues, the failure of Left to provide a third alternative, the impact of their association with the UPA government and the inability to make inroads into the Hindi belt.

The top Left leaders said the only option was to enlarge their base by launching a united people's struggle.

On the recent ascendancy of the regional outfits on the national level, especially in the case of Uttar Pradesh where the Bahujan Samaj Party upset all calculations to form a government on its own, CPI(M) politburo member M K Pandhe said both the Congress and the BJP had failed to appreciate the regional issues and the people's expectations.

''It is simply because they failed to take up the regional issues,'' he said.

Mr Pandhe, a veteran communist, said, ''Now the regional parties are coming into prominence. For example, in the case of Tamil Nadu, where DMK is ruling, earlier it was ruled by the AIADMK. The Congress earlier ruled during the time of J Bhakthavatsalam and K Kamaraj.'' The Congress there, he said, was not forced to play a second fiddle.

A similar example he cited was of Andhra Pradesh, where the Telugu Desam Party had emerged as a strong force and it ruled there preceding the Y Rajasekhara Reddy government.

The CPI(M) leader said besides it the appeal of the regionalism was on the ascendancy.

On the Left's incapacity to advance in the Hindi belt, the Left leader said it was because the sentiment of caste and communalism is very strong there.

''It is true that the Left is weak there (in Hindi belt). We are incapacitate there and we have not advanced in the area,'' Mr Pandhe said adding that ''we are trying to surge ahead, but it will take time to advance there.'' Another party leader, however, said this was because ''wahan lade hi nahin..( We did not fight there).'' Mr Pandhe said the party won as many as ten seats in the Legislative Council polls in Andhra Pradesh and the local elections in Nasik, Pune and Mumbai. It was because the party fought there on the people's issues.

On the future prospects of the Left because of their association with the Manmohan Singh Government, the CPI (M) leaders claimed that it would have no adverse impact as they always opposed the anti-people economic policies of the government.

''Our mass base remains intact,'' Mr Pandhe said.

On the Left dilemma for supporting the government, CPI national secretary Shamim Faizi said after completion of the three years rule of the UPA, the Left was unable to look forward for a better transitory phase, though some of the constituents of the front are pleading for reviewing the rationale behind continuing the support.

''The problem with the Left is that it cannot withdraw support to the UPA Government because in that case the visible alternative was the NDA,'' he said.

''We have yet to build a real third alternative,'' Mr Faizi added.

RSP leader Abani Roy was of the view that if the Left - all the four parties - the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc failed to put up a unified struggle on the people's issues, they would have to pay a ''heavy political price'' for their extending support to the Manmohan Singh Government.

UNI