CPI doubts gov. will allow JD(S)-Cong to form govt

Describing the Raj Bhavan as "the centre of conspiracies by the BJP," CPI general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy today expressed doubts as to whether the JD(S) would be allowed to form the government with the Congress's support in Karnataka.

It is quite natural that both these "secular" parties have decided to keep the BJP out of power, he said.

"It's good they have come together but we have doubts. Raj Bhavan as the 'centre of conspiracies' by the BJP...they may not allow them even though they have required numbers, may not be allowed to form the government," Reddy told PTI here.

He saw the Congress's move to support the JD(S) as "quite natural", saying had it not "accommodated" the JD(S), the BJP would have done so.

"I think they (the Congress) have done the wise thing by giving unconditional support," the veteran Communist leader said.

He said the Congress, which failed to come to power on its own steam, should not now "dream" of prime ministership and stake claim to lead an anti-BJP front; it should focus on bringing "secular" parties together to defeat the lead party of the NDA.

The Congress should learn lessons from the loss in Karnataka and see to it that "secular" parties come together to fight the BJP, he added.

The Congress and the JD(S) would have swept the polls in Karnataka had they struck a pre-poll alliance, he said, adding that instead, the Rahul Gandhi-led party, without learning any lessons from the past electoral reverses, went alone in the May 12 polls.

"Not only making good speeches, Rahul Gandhi should take courageous decisions also to bring unity among secular parties," the CPI leader said.

"He (Gandhi) has to prove his ability by making people understand that this (unity among secular parties) is the need of the hour. Brave statements alone will not give him the leadership (in the anti-BJP front)", Reddy added.

More than the BJP's strength, it is the "caste equations" that helped the BJP to emerge as the single largest party in Karnataka, he said, noting that in the previous elections B S Yeddyurappa was not in the BJP and had cut into its vote-share leading to its loss.

"Shamelessly they (BJP) have taken the help of Ballari mafia also," he said while referring to the mining scam-tainted Reddy brothers who were back in circulation in the BJP.

The CPI leader reiterated that the "secular" parties in the country should forge state-specific electoral understanding in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

But in some states, such an understanding would not be possible. For example, the Left cannot go together with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, and with the Congress in Kerala, he pointed out.