Coimbatore: CPI on Saturday sought to steer clear from criticism of joining hands with Congress in Telangana, as against its declared stance, clarifying that as a special case, the state party unit has been authorized to negotiate with like-minded parties, who had fought and supported formation of separate Telangana.
Of the 119 seats, CPI has sought 12 assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat, while other parties such as TRS, Congress and New Democracy were sharing the rest in the Telangana region, CPI General Secretary Sudhakara Reddy told reporters here.
Since CPI-M was committed to United Andhra Pradesh, there was a difference of opinion in seat sharing in the region and with TRS already announcing candidates for 69 seats, his party and Congress were in the process of seat sharing, which was expected to be through by April 6, Reddy said. This is not an alliance with the Congress, but sharing purely on the local basis, he pointed out.
Stating that if it failed to reach any understanding with Congress in seat sharing, the party will go it alone, or with CPI(M), Reddy said the party would enter into dialogue with CPI(M) in Andhra Pradesh region both for Assembly and Lok Sabha. To a question on AIADMK general secretary and Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa unilaterally snapping ties with Left Parties, he alleged it could be due to possible pressure from Mamata Banerjee or corporate houses.
On the possibility of supporting Jayalalithaa for prime ministership, if the arithmetic favored her, Reddy made it clear that Left parties had never projected a candidate for the post. This would depend on post-poll situation, he said.
Though CPI was not prepared to contest the polls, the enthusiasm and confidence of the cadre prompted it to enter the fray in Tami Nadu, he said. To a question on left parties' support to candidates from other constituencies, where they were not contesting, that is 20 seats in Tamil Nadu, Reddy said it would be decided after the process of filing nominations was over. "It would depend on the candidate, or otherwise we would opt for NOTA," he said.
