CPIM-TMC tussle: In a major announcement on the eve of the second Opposition unity meeting in Bengaluru, CPIM leader Sitaram Yechury on Monday (July 17) ruled out any alliance with the TMC, which is also a participant in the Karnataka gathering tomorrow, in West Bengal stating that “secular parties” will continue fighting against the BJP and Mamata-led party in the state.
Notably, 26 Opposition parties will meet at 11 am tomorrow in Bengaluru in an attempt to chalk out the strategy to defeat the BJP next year in Lok Sabha polls. CPIM and TMC are among the participants who will share the dias tomorrow. Both parties do not see eye to eye in West Bengal.
Speaking to reporters at the venue of the two-day meeting which will be attended by him, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Yechury cited the 2004 model which brought the Left-Congress coalition to power at the Centre.
"The situation is different in every state. The effort is to ensure that in these situations the division of votes which gives the BJP the advantage should be minimal. This is not a new thing. Like in 2004, the Left had 61 seats, out of which we won 57 defeating the Congress candidates..then the Manmohan Singh government was formed and it ran for 10 years. Mamata and CPI(M) will not happen. There will be secular parties along with the Left and the Congress in West Bengal which will fight against the BJP and TMC," the CPI(M) general secretary said.
West Bengal a bone of contention?
West Bengal has been a bone of contention within the Opposition with the two parties slamming each other over issues. The Left parties have hit out at Mamata over the spate of violence that took place recently during the panchayat polls in the state.
Taking advantage of the differences among the Opposition parties, the BJP has highlighted this point to claim that they are divided and their only agenda is to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
When asked about the Opposition's face to take on Prime Minister Modi, Yechury said that the Left-Congress coalition registered victory despite Atal Bihari Vajpayee's stature in 2004 and the road will be similar in 2024.
"The road is like in 2004. As for the face of the opposition, we have given them the answer in 2004 when Manmohan Singh became PM even when a charismatic leader like Vajpayee was the face of the BJP," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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