The CPI announced on Saturday that it would not be a part of a single, nationwide alliance of the Opposition for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but would opt for state-specific pacts.
The decision came a day after the Left party participated in an Opposition unity meeting convened by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. The CPI has two seats each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The CPI has empowered its state units to enter into separate alliances and conduct seat-sharing negotiations. The party has said it will not be a part of the Opposition alliance in states where it does not get to contest the Lok Sabha polls despite having a significant presence.
“Our party will not enter into a single, unified alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. Our state units will take separate decisions about alliances, seat sharing and other related issues according to their requirements. We have empowered them to do so,” CPI general secretary D. Raja said.
“We have decided to do so because the political situation varies from state to state. The situation in no two states is the same. This is our approach to the forthcoming polls. Our intention is to pool maximum anti-BJP votes,” Raja added.
The CPI general secretary was talking to journalists in Patna a day after attending the 17-party Opposition unity meeting.
He argued that the situation in Bihar, where three communist parties — the CPI, CPM and the CPI(ML) — are part of the ruling alliance along with the Janata Dal United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, was different from that in Tamil Nadu where two communist parties — the CPI and the CPM — are part of the 11-party Secular Progressive Alliance.
“Similarly, we cannot compare the situation in other states because it varies from one to another. There cannot be a comparison between Kerala, Karnataka or for that matter Uttar Pradesh,” Raja said.
Asked whether the CPI will be a part of an Opposition alliance in a state even if it does not get any Lok Sabha seat to contest despite a sizable presence, Raja said the party would not accept such an arrangement.
“No, we will not accept such a situation. Our party has already started identifying potential seats for the general election and negotiations will be done accordingly,” Raja told The Telegraph.
