'Alliances among all 11 Left, secular parties not necessary'

Eleven Left and secular parties, which would announce the formation of a non-Congress, anti-BJP alternative after the ongoing Parliament session, may not necessarily enter into alliances in all states for the upcoming general elections, CPI(M) said today.

"The 11 parties have decided to hold a meeting after the current Parliament session where they will announce the formation of this alternative. There will be a declaration which will set out the basic framework, the principles and the direction of this alternative," party General Secretary Prakash Karat said.

"Given the nature of the parties that are getting together, it is not necessary that there should be an electoral alliance or seat adjustments between all these parties," he said in an article in the forthcoming issue of CPI(M) organ 'People's Democracy'.

Karat said since many of these parties were state based, "it is not feasible to have seat adjustments with other constituent parties in other states."

The 11 parties could "pool their strength from their respective states for an all-India combination," he said while noting that the electoral battle would be between three combinations - Congress-led UPA, BJP-led NDA and the non- Congress, non-BJP combination.

Karat said this combination would set out a framework of political positions and policies against Congress and BJP and "strengthen the efforts of the constituent political parties in the elections in their respective states and areas".

Maintaining that these parties "may be joined by some other parties who are today not in Parliament", he said this combination would "provide an alternative to the people who are fed up with the Congress and will also effectively counter the BJP's claim to be the alternative".