The CPI-ML’s “BJP Bhagao Desh Bachao” (oust BJP, save country) rally on Thursday had a clear message — that all Opposition parties, including the Left, must unite to remove the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
“The Narendra Modi government is an accident in the name of government. The country’s economy has been ruined and the government has to be removed,” CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said during the rally at Gandhi Maidan.
He said that first all parties should join hands in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — where Assembly elections are due.
The CPI-ML rally was different from other rallies held by political parties. Though half of the Gandhi Maidan was full, not a single vehicle ferrying crowds was visible.
The participants, mostly hailing from the downtrodden sections of the society, had come to the ground on their own. Many had come on Wednesday.
Leaders of almost all parties except the Congress were called to address the rally.
The RJD had a low-profile presence, represented by former ministers Alok Mehta and Shiv Chandar Ram. Sharad Yadav sent former speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary.
Congress MP Akhilesh Singh shrugged off the CPI-ML not sending an invitation letter for the rally.
“What credibility have the Left parties left,” he quipped.
The CPI-ML is the largest Left party in Bihar, with three MLAs. It has never won a Lok Sabha seat although it has come close in Ara. The party is now talking about an alliance with RJD, which is reported to be open to leaving the Ara seat to the CPI-ML. But the Left party is demanding six seats including Siwan, Jehanabad, Karakar and Patliputra.
Dipankar had a message for the Grand Alliance.
“A Grand Alliance was formed in Bihar also, but there was betrayal and Nitishji walked over to the BJP. If a meaningful alliance has to be formed in Bihar it should have the significant presence of Left parties,” he said at Gandhi Maidan.
He stressed that Thursday’s rally would create the right “atmosphere” for the formation of an alliance to take on the BJP in 2019.
