United front will have to wait: CPI

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy on Friday said that a united opposition against BJP may not become a reality before 2019 Lok Sabha polls however there will be some sort of understanding at the national and regional level to defeat the communal and fascist forces. At a meet the press programme at the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club he said a united  front was not possible because most of the parties were regional.

“It will be some sort of regional parties’ combination in different states and a partial opposition front at the national level. ,” he said and added that it would also be a broader platform for mass organisations, social organisations and intellectuals who are fighting against communalism and fascism. Mr Reddy said it was too early to discuss what sort of front was going to emerge. The regional parties play a very big role as far as their respective states are concerned.

However, at the national level their influence is limited. He said elections two years away and during this period secular and democratic parties should fight on issues like price rise, economic crisis, attack on dalits and insecurity among minorities to create a genuine alternative to the Modi government. Reddy said Congress alone could not from a front. “Congress has lost its capacity to fight the BJP alone that is why there should be a broader platform of secular forces. Whether the Congress should be part of it or not is a different question. The Congress as a party has got a pan India presence and is still the biggest opposition party which has a role to play.  At the same time we feel Congress is not serious enough to fight the communal forces in many places,” he said.