CPM's state committee to meet tomorrow for assembly polls

Shimla, Oct 15 (UNI) A two-day meeting of the state committee of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the CPM will begin here tomorrow to chalk out its strategy for the coming assembly elections in the state.

''The committee besides chalking out its strategy for the elections will also decide the number of candidates the party will field in these polls,'' party's state committee member Sanjay Chauhan told UNI here.

He said the party would field 12 to 15 candidates on its own, while the CPI, with whom it would have a joint front in the state, was yet to decide the number of candidates it would put up in the polls.

However, the party's state committee would be the final authority on deciding the number of candidates it would field in the assembly elections, which are to be held in two phases on November 14 and December 19, Mr Chauhan said.

The decision to fight state assembly polls under a joint front was taken by the Left parties during their meeting at Mandi town recently, he said.

On being asked whether the Left parties would strike an alliance with the BSP in the state during the assembly polls, he said the Left had no truck with BSP as it was continuing with its ''politics of caste''.

Mr Chauhan rubbished any possibility of a third front emerging in the state in the near future, saying as of now no such front was on the horizon.

Accusing both the Congress and the BJP of failing to live up to the expectations of the people of Himachal, he said the electorate would punish both the parties for following anti-people policies during their respective terms in the state and at the Centre.

The CPM would campaign against the communal forces and for the formation of a secular government in the state, he added.

UNI