CPI general secretary D. Raja on Friday expressed concern over the Congress’s role in INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) and said that it did not enter into any seat-sharing deal with partners in the coming Assembly elections in five states.

He advised the Grand Old Party to positively consider the remarks made by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday.

Raja also asserted that the CPI will contest a “reasonable number of seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as it was a force to reckon with in several states in the country”.

However, he did not reveal the number of seats his party was eyeing to contest.

“The Congress has not done any seat-sharing with INDIA partners in the coming Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana or Mizoram. This is an issue that should be paid attention to,” Raja told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing national conference of the Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union, a party organisation of farm labourers.

“The Congress should positively consider the remarks of Bihar chief minister and JDU leader Nitish Kumar. I hope that it takes them in a positive way,” Raja added.

Nitish, while attending the CPI’s “BJP Hatao, Desh Bachao” (Remove BJP, save country) rally in Patna on Thursday, had said that the Congress was not worried about INDIA and was concerned more about the polls in the five states. He had also blamed the Congree for the failure to build momentum on initial progress on the issue.

Raja hoped that seat-sharing negotiations in the Opposition bloc for the Lok Sabha elections would start after the results of the Assembly polls are declared on December 3.