Bihar: CPI not with big brother, works on another front

‘‘Whether you call this the third front or not, we are fighting the elections together. The people of Bihar are looking for an alternative,’’ Raja said during a seminar on Bihar elections organised by the CPI(M-L).

The national executive will finalise the party’s electoral strategy and campaign line.

Raja said that the polls were crucial because the outcome would lead to the realignment of political and social forces. The third front is being seen as the alternative to two combines—the Congress-RJD and the BJP-JD(U).

Answering criticism that Left parties were splitting the secular vote by not contesting the polls together, the CPI leader said, ‘‘We are not splitting the secular vote. The point is that we are giving a choice to the people of Bihar.’’

Dipankar Bhattacharya of the CPI(M-L) advocated Left unity in the polls, saying they had a huge mass base and should firm up their positions in advance. In a reference to the CPI(M), which recognises the RJD as the biggest secular force in the state, he said, ‘‘If communist parties don’t unite for the polls despite our mass base, it will be a historic blunder.’’

He said there was space for a third force in the state and this was evident from the CPI(M-L)’s performance in the last polls, where it had won seven seats, two more than in the earlier polls. Of these, three were in new areas—Siwan (RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin’s stronghold), Bhojpur and Sandesh (dominated by the Ranveer Sena).

But, it was evident that the inability to bring about Left unity for the polls was a sore point. Debabrata Biswas, general secretary, Forward Bloc, said while Left parties were together in the fight against communalism, casteism, corruption and criminalisation of politics, at the time of elections, they went in different ways.

‘‘Left parties are being forced to go to Laloo and Rabri for one or two seats. The argument that to fight communalism we have go to go to Laloo Prasad Yadav is one we don’t accept,’’ Biswas said.