Assembly polls: Goal of CPM to keep BJP away from power, says Yechury

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday said his party will support those outfits that have the ability to defeat the BJP in polls scheduled for February-March in five states.

The goal of the CPI(M) is to keep BJP away from power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, Yechury, who is on a visit to Bhopal to participate in a state level CPI(M) convention, told reporters.

He said his party was also discussing this issue with other Leftist groups as the aim was to stop the division of anti-BJP votes by forging alliances.

Claiming there was an anti-BJP atmosphere in UP, he said the CPI(M) will talk to the Samajwadi Party (SP), which is the main contender for power there.

The BJP has to be defeated politically and kept away from power in order to make a better India, he said.

"This (communal polarization by the BJP) has created an atmosphere of hatred and violence, disturbing the social fabric, unity and brotherhood in the country. So, it is necessary to keep them (BJP) away from power by defeating them in elections otherwise the country's constitutional system will not survive," he said.

The condition of the people has deteriorated very quickly under the Narendra Modi government, with unemployment and hunger being widespread, while the country's wealth was being looted through disinvestment, he claimed.