Better if opposition is united: CPI's Reddy

With unity among opposition parties in tatters in poll-bound states, the CPI has expressed dismay at the situation saying it would have been much better if all the secular parties remained united in the fight to oust BJP from power.

CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy also targeted the CPI(M) for ditching the opposition grouping of Congress-TDP-CPI in Telangana, accusing the latter of moving away from its own Party Congress' decision by taking a politically incorrect decision.

"If all opposition parties are united, it would have been much better. We hope even now there is a possibility in all these states. When we say easier, it is not in the negative. Anyways, BJP is going to be defeated," Reddy told a press conference on Monday explaining the decisions taken at the party's National Executive two days ago.

Several opposition parties have accused Congress of not taking the initiative in alliance building in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Mayawati-led BSP had recently walked out of talks with Congress and announced contesting the elections in these three states on its own.

In Chhattisgarh, CPI leaders said they were in talks with Congress but after initial rounds, the latter did not return to the negotiation table forcing the party to announce its own plans.

Besides Telangana, the CPI has struck a "limited understanding" in Chhattisgarh with Ajit Jogi's Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) and Left Front partners and secular parties in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In these states, the CPI is contesting a minimum number of seats -- Rajasthan (20), Madhya Pradesh (18) and Chhattisgarh (5) -- while giving a call to "defeat BJP by electing secular party candidates".

Asked about the negotiations with Congress in Chhattisgarh, Reddy said they are fighting five seats and there is a "limited understanding" with Jogi's outfit. CPI and JCC will support each other in two seats in Naxal-infested Bastar.

"We tried to have an alliance. Congress wanted us to leave certain seats where we had strength. We decided to continue the negotiations but they did not come back to negotiations. We waited but then decided to go ahead," Reddy said.

On CPI(M)'s decision not to join the Telangana front, he said, "the stand taken by the CPI(M) at the Hyderabad Party Congress was that it will join hands with all secular parties, including Congress, to defeat the BJP. Unfortunately, the CPI(M) has taken a different stand. How it will affect the electoral prospects has to be seen after the elections. The decision to join Congress-TDP-CPI front in Telangana not politically correct."

At its National Executive, the CPI also decided to urge all secular opposition parties to have sort of an all India campaign on Rafale scam and developments in CBI.