Puducherry Assembly election: Left parties flay Congress, DMK for crisis in INDIA bloc in Puducherry

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India have hit out against the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the present crisis faced by the INDIA bloc for April 9 Assembly elections in Puducherry.

Addressing separate press conferences here on Wednesday, CPI (M) leader K. Balakrishnan and CPI secretary A. M. Saleem said both the parties were responsible for the constituents of INDIA bloc taking different electoral paths for the Assembly elections in the Union Territory.

While Mr. Balakrishnan blamed both the Congress and the DMK for the fiasco, Mr. Saleem held the Congress responsible for the break-up of the alliance in the region. 

The CPI (M) leader said the Congress and the DMK have miserably failed to take the alliance partners together in the INDIA bloc’s electoral fight against the ruling AINRC-BJP combine. “The AINRC-BJP government was facing a huge anti-incumbency because of the corruption charges. There was a big momentum for the INDIA bloc. However, the Congress and the DMK failed to put up a united fight against the government,” he said. 

Mr. Balakrishnan said the CPI (M) has put up candidates in Lawspet and Thirubhuvanai. The party would support the CPI and the VCK in constituencies where both parties have fielded their candidates. The aim of the party was to defeat the AINRC-BJP alliance, he said. 

Mr. Saleem said the Congress was solely responsible for the breakup of the INDIA bloc. However, he said the DMK had failed to get the desired seat for the CPI by talking to the Congress party. The CPI was only engaged in seat sharing talks with the DMK in Puducherry, he said. 

Mr. Saleem said he has withdrawn his candidature from Thattanchavady where Member of Parliament and Pradesh Congress Committee chief V. Vaithilingam has also filed nomination papers. The CPI has decided to contest only from Ozhukarai constituency, he added. 

“Mr. Vaithilingam has jumped into the Assembly polls after getting elected to the Lok Sabha two years ago. There was no necessity for him to contest the Assembly elections. He has spoiled the unity of the secular and democratic forces in the Union Territory. The party has decided to support only the candidates of the CPI (M), the VCK and the SUCI in Puducherry,” Mr. Saleem said.