The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is trying its best to prevent division of anti-Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) votes in upcoming general elections. With a view to prepare a roadmap before the election CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday visited Ranchi and met with Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav to discuss on future strategy.
Addressing a press conference Yechury said there should be three point objectives to oust the BJP-led government at the Centre. “First, we have to work towards defeating the BJP and its allies. Secondly, we need to strengthen the presence of the Left parties in the Parliament. And thirdly, we need to work for the establishment of an alternative secular government at the Centre,” he said.
It is difficult to form a non-BJP pre-poll alliance at the national level under the given political circumstances, he said and expressed confidence that the Modi government would be voted out of power in 2019 and a new coalition would form government at the Centre.
Responding to a question about indefinable grand-alliance against the Modi government in 2019, Yechury said, “The alliance will happen at the state level for the polls. Any grand-alliance at the Central level can only happen after elections’ results as NDA was formed after 1998 elections and UPA was formed after 2004 elections.”
Yechury said the CPI (M) will oppose BJP on Central level and Mamta Banerjee led TMC government in West Bengal. Yechury said, “We are not in politics to enjoy power but because of our policies and principles.”
To achieve these objectives, Yechury said the Left parties’ strategy should be such that there is a maximum pooling of anti-BJP votes in the country and, in West Bengal, maximum pooling of anti-BJP and anti-TMC votes.
“The policies implemented by the Modi government are totally anti-people. The policy decisions of demonetisation, GST have caused tremendous damage. The youth have lost employment because of the policies of the government. According to the report of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy 110 lakhs youths have lost their jobs only in 2018,” Yechury said.
Yechury said the BJP’s defeat in three state assembly polls was a clear indication of the people’s discontent and anger at the policies of the Narendra Modi government.
Yechury accused the Centre of trying to divert people’s attention to issues aimed at sharpening communal polarisation.