Not part of any alliance in TN, to contest bypolls as Left front: CPI, CPM

CHENNAI: Dashing the ruling TVK’s hope of presenting a united front against the opposition parties in the upcoming Assembly bypolls, the Left parties said on Sunday that they would contest from Madurantakam and Dharapuram seats.

Their decision would also have an impact on the DMK and AIADMK, as the anti-TVK votes would be splintered further.

According to the understanding reached between them, the CPM will contest from Madurantakam and the CPI from Dharapuram, both reserved seats from where AIADMK candidates had won, but resigned and crossed over to the TVK.

Speaking to reporters in Tiruchy after the party's State committee meeting on Saturday, CPM State secretary P Shanmugam said the committee decided to field Left candidates in both constituencies along with the CPI and CPI (ML) Liberation.

“The Left parties are not part of any of the three existing alliances. As this is not a general election or an election for a change of government, we have decided to contest the bypolls independently, with the CPM contesting one seat and the CPI the other,” he said.

He said the candidates would be introduced at a meeting of the State secretaries of the CPM, CPI, and CPI (ML) Liberation in Chennai on September 15, a day before the last date for filing nominations.

Around the same time in Chennai, CPI State secretary M Veerapandian said the party's State executive decided to maintain its stand of not joining any alliance in the prevailing political situation.

Veerapandian said the CPI had supported the TVK government from outside after the Assembly election to respect the people's mandate and to prevent the Governor from prevaricating, which would have led to the BJP gaining indirect control of the government. “We have neither joined the coalition nor the cabinet,” he said.

Both leaders clarified that contesting the bypolls independently would not mean withdrawing support to the TVK government.

Shanmugam said the Left parties had differences with the TVK-led government over several issues, including aspects of its budget and the implementation of liberal and neo-liberal economic policies. These issues, along with the need for the Assembly to function democratically and serve as a forum to discuss people's issues, would figure in the campaign, he said.

On the government's focus on attracting foreign investment, Shanmugam said the government should disclose details of the investments it claimed to have attracted, including the source, employment generated, and projects proposed. He also stressed the need to protect domestic and small-scale industries through financial allocations, tax concessions, and credit support.

He also criticised the two TVK candidates, who had won the seats on AIADMK tickets in the recent Assembly election before resigning and joining TVK within 20 days of result declaration. “They have not been able to give any reasonable justification for their decision. We had criticised it then and our criticism continues,” he said.

Shanmugam said the CPM would also seek support from other parties that were not part of the three existing alliances. “We will directly meet the leaders of other parties and seek their support for the Left candidates,” he said.

Veerapandian said the Left parties wanted to strengthen their presence in the Assembly to amplify the voice of workers and ordinary people. He appealed to democratic forces and voters in the two constituencies to support the Left candidates.