CPI with Congress, CPM to go it alone in Telangana

NEW DELHI: Assembly elections in Telangana will see the two Left parties - CPI and CPM - chart two separate paths, the former choosing to contest with Congress and CPM deciding to go it alone.

Seat-sharing talks between CPM and Congress collapsed less than a week after party chief Sitaram Yechury said he was hopeful that a pre-poll pact should be sealed between the two parties. CPI, on the other hand, has accepted Congress' offer of one assembly seat - Kothagudem in Bhadradri Kothagudem district - where CPI state secretary K Sambasiva Rao will contest. CPI has also accepted two MLC seats from Congress as part of the seat-sharing pact.

Party insiders said CPM was keen to contest seats in Telangana's tribal belt Khammam, where it holds some sway. However, with Congress unwilling to concede any of the four seats CPM had asked for - Palair, Bhadrachalam, Miryalguda or Wyra - it released a list of 14 candidates who will contest the polls independently.

Sources attributed the difference in Congress' handling of the two Left constituents to CPM's traditional opposition to the Telangana statehood movement, a position that still makes some in Telangana vary of aligning with CPM. On the other hand, CPI had supported the formation of Telangana, making it a more natural ally of Congress in this regard.

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