Willing to join Maha Cong-led alliance for 2019 polls if we

The CPI is willing to join the Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but wants the Congress to leave them some seats to contest against the BJP in the state, a top party leader said today.

Maharashtra sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the second largest contributor after Uttar Pradesh (80 seats).

"They (Congress) want us to support the alliance to take on the BJP. We also want to dethrone the BJP. But we cannot just extend support to other opposition parties. We want the Congress to leave some seats for us (to contest) in the state," the CPI leader told PTI.

Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan had recently said that his party was in talks with other parties including the CPI(M), the CPI and the BSP, besides the NCP to stitch up an alliance to take on the BJP in the upcoming general elections.

The BJP had won 23 seats in Maharashtra in 2014 Lok Sabha polls while the Shiv Sena, a key constituent of the NDA, had bagged 18 seats.

The NCP and the Congress, erstwhile ruling parties, were restricted to 4 and 2 seats, respectively.

Both the CPI(M) and the CPI had drawn a blank in the 2014 polls, gaining 0.38 and 0.12 per cent votes, respectively, of the total 48284248 votes polled in the state.