CPI won’t join nationwide Oppn alliance but look for state-specific ties: D Raja

The CPI, after joining the Opposition meeting in Patna on Friday (June 23), has said it would not be part of a single, nationwide Opposition alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls but opt for state-specific ties.

The Telegraph quoted CPI general secretary D Raja as saying that the party’s state units would take separate decisions about alliances, seat sharing, and other related issues “according to their requirements”. He added that the party has “empowered them to do so”.

He reportedly explained the decision pointing out that “the political situation varies from state to state”. He added that the party’s aim is to pool “maximum anti-BJP votes”.

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The CPI has two seats each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The party has said it will not join hands with other Opposition parties in states where it has a significant presence but will not be able to contest the Lok Sabha polls because of such alliance.

For instance, the communist parties CPI, CPM, and the CPI(ML) are part of the ruling alliance in Bihar along with the JD(U), RJD, and the Congress. However, in Tamil Nadu, the CPI and the CPM are part of the 11-party Secular Progressive Alliance, he pointed out.

Similarly, the situations in states like Kerala, Karnataka, or Uttar Pradesh were not comparable, the CPI general secretary told journalists in Patna a day after the Opposition meeting.

“Our party has already started identifying potential seats for the general election and negotiations will be done accordingly,” Raja told The Telegraph.