	Sun, Feb 12, 2012

CPI-CPM spar in Kerala

New Delhi, Fri, 13 Mar 2009 NI Wire

A day after the formal inauguration of the Third Front in guidance of Left parties, the prospect of the ruling alliance in Kerala, the Left Democratic Front, is looking bleak as the Communist Party of India (CPI) has said today it will fight elections single-handedly if Ponnani seat is not given to it.

The political fallout was the result of seat sharing, especially after talks over the Ponnani seat failed. A CPI statement stated that the onus of the split in the state lies completely with the CPM.

In case of failure of talks on seat-sharing again on March 16, the CPI will contest all 20 seats during the general elections scheduled on April 16.

Ever since the seat-sharing agreement started, the CPI had been demanding the Ponnani seat citing its traditional stronghold, and in the end refused to fall in the lines of CPI-M and Janata Dal-Secular JD (S).

CPM wanted to field a 'common LDF independent' to muster support of Muslims outside the Indian Union Muslim League like PDP of Abdul Nasser Madani. Moreover, CPM was also keen to contest the Kozhikode seat, but JD-S has been contesting from this seat since 1980 and did not want to give it up.

Meanwhile, the CPM has called for an emergency meeting in New Delhi to discuss the situation.

After a meeting of the top brass at the party headquarters, CPI state secretary Veliyam Bharghavan told IANS that further talks on the issue would not be held with the CPI-M.

“We will meet on March 16 and if they don’t give us the Ponanni seat, we will put up our candidates in all seats, barring where the Kerala Congress (Joseph) is fighting and also where the Janata Dal-Secular is to get a seat.”

In the 2004 elections, the CPI-M contested 14 seats, the CPI four and the JD-S and the Kerala Congress (Joseph) contested one seat each.

The Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Kerala Congress-S and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are also members of the ruling LDF that was formed in 1979.

Elections for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala will be held on April 16.