Cong should be accommodative to other parties in INDIA bloc: CPI Gen Secy D Raja

HYDERABAD: The CPI has been urging the Congress and other larger parties of the INDIA bloc to be accommodative to other parties, CPI General Secretary D Raja said on Sunday.

He said that in the recently concluded assembly elections in five states, the BJP managed to capture power in all others except Telangana.

"In one of the meetings of the INDIA alliance, several top leaders pointed out that we should learn proper lessons from these elections and accordingly we should get our act together. We should not be defeated.

"We have been telling the Congress party and the so-called larger parties that they must be accommodative to other parties. There must be mutual trust and there must be mutual accommodation and the Congress party should have that approach," Raja, who was here to attend the CPI national council meeting, told reporters.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress should have come to power; in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh also the Congress should have retained power, he said, pointing out that one of the causes of the defeat could be that "there was no proper seat-sharing arrangement…or political understanding between the Congress and other parties."

He added, "All parties must learn. Let us see for Parliament elections how the seat-sharing negotiations are going to be. We are also discussing with the Congress leadership," he said.

He said the CPI's leadership has asked its state units to work out the seat-sharing agreement with the other constituents of the INDIA bloc and complete the negotiations as early as possible.

The senior CPI leader warned that if the BJP comes back to power (in the upcoming Parliament elections) it would result in a "calamity" for the country.

"The 2024 Parliament elections are critical and in these elections the BJP has to be defeated in order to save the country," he said.

"As far as Parliament elections are concerned, we appeal to the people to vote against the BJP. The BJP must be defeated and must be thrown out of power. If the BJP comes back (to power) that will be a calamity for the nation. We must save the nation from that calamity. So we are appealing to all secular democratic parties…work together and sort out the problems and conclude the seat-sharing arrangements in all states," he said.

For the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the CPI has decided to come out with its own manifesto, he said, adding however that INDIA alliance could come out with a common manifesto or declaration.

The primary objective is to defeat the BJP and save the country and the Constitution, Raja reiterated.