Yechury lauds DMK-led secular alliance's LS performance

The CPI(M) Wednesday lauded the DMK for forming a successful alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu but lamented such an understanding did not develop among the secular democratic forces in many other states.

The party would spearhead the fight against the challenges posed by the BJP rule in the coming days, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

"I would like to congratulate the DMK and M K Stalin (DMK president), not only for the victory, but also for the efforts made to bring together all secular democratic forces into a common understanding and contest the elections," he said.

Such an understanding, unfortunately, did not develop in many other states, Yechury added.

While the BJP alone won a whopping 303 seats across the country in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the party was decimated in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK-led alliance, which included the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), won 37 of the 38 seats that went to the polls.

Sharing his assessment on the poll outcome, Yechury said successful shifting of electoral narrative from livelihood issues to Hindutva nationalism, communal polarisation, larger-than-life persona of Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed by staggering amount of money contributed to the BJP's success.

"It is estimated, BJP itself spent Rs 27,000 crore in this elections.

Naturally the money is gained from the crony capitalism that was followed in the last five years and chosen corporates who liberally funded the BJP," the CPI-M leader alleged on the sidelines of the party's state committee meeting here.

Inability of the opposition, he said, was also a fundamental factor that contributed to the mandate that the BJP received.

"The ideological campaign on what has to be posed and what has to be fought for is between secularism and Hindutva, between Hindutva nationalism and Indian nationalism. That ideological battle was not forcefully joined by many parties, while we tried our best," Yechury said.

The left party would mobilise broadest possible forces to fight challenges posed during the BJP tenure, the CPI-M leader asserted.