Left resents TDP overtures

quot;Where is the question of responding to such overtures,quot; said CPM General Secretary, Harkishen Singh Surjeet, adding, quot;He Naidu has aligned himself with the BJP, his position is very clearquot;.

Instead the Left parties aver that they will use every opportunity to attack Telegu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, and will be joining hands to project a third front in the state comprising the CPI, CPM, some Naxal groups of Rayalseema and Telengana and minority organisations like the United Minority Front UMF.

The immediate chance for the Left parties to train their gunson the TDP comes up at a rally on May 4, where all the third front partners are hoping to send a clear message that Naidu8217;s brand of ambivalence will cost him dear.

quot;If Naidu is now feeling uncomfortable about the instability of the BJP government at the Centre, what can we do?,quot; questions Atul Kumar Anjaan of the CPI. quot;He has drifted away from the UF, compromised its politics. What is the point of any talk of keeping options open?,quot; he adds.

In a move to checkmate efforts by the Congress to cash in on the growing disillusionment with the TDP, the Left parties are projecting the incipient third front in the state as an alternative.

quot;There is a perceptible anger towards Naidu in the state and his aligning with the BJP over the confidence vote, has alienated a wide section of the people,quot; CPI sources said.

Naidu8217;s changing posture towards the BJP, swinging between equidistance and neutrality, followed by his vote of confidence in favour of the BJP, the appointment of his nominee as the Lok SabhaSpeaker touched a raw nerve among the UF partners.

The mounting resentment to the Naidu-led TDP government is evident in the bandhs that are being called in the state, said Anjaan. April 23 saw a state-wide bandh by peasant organisations of the two Left parties, and some of the Naxal-sponsored peasant organisations. The plight of impoverished farmers driven to suicide reflective of small holdings which proliferate in the absence of land reforms have alienated sizeable chunks of the rural population.

Then again, the TDP8217;s collusion with the BJP has put off minorities in the state who feel Naidu8217;s claims of being secular have been exposed. Andhra Industries minister Babu Khan8217;s resignation over the TDP8217;s backing to the BJP at the critical juncture of government-formation has alerted the Left forces that they should fill the breach rather than leave the field open to the Congress.