Another jolt to Congress? Sitaram Yechury says grand alliance not possible at national level

Sitaram Yechury said that a "mahagatbandhan" was not possible at the national level.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi, BSP leader Mayawati, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and others during the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru,. (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: The CPI-M on Monday said the formation of a grand-alliance at the national level was not possible though the party may think about it at the appropriate time but asserted that the priority was to defeat the BJP. Party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury told the media that a "mahagatbandhan" was not possible at the national level. "It may mean an alliance of the SP (Samajwadi Party) and BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) and allies in Uttar Pradesh. And in Bihar it will be led by RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal). This is what I am saying. "We will decide on joining the 'mahagatbandhan' when the time comes. Let things crystallise. For now, our priority is to defeat the BJP and ensure formation of a secular government," said the Marxist leader after a CPI-M Central Committee meeting. If attempts were made to form pre-poll alliances in the states, the CPI-M would support them in order to pull down the BJP, Yechury said. "If the SP and BSP come together, we will be with them to defeat the BJP. In Bihar, we will support if the RJD and other secular forces join hands," he said. Asked if the Communist Party of India-Marxist would back Congress candidates where it would not field candidates, Yechury appeared to nod in the affirmation. The electoral tactics would be worked out to maximize putting together anti-BJP votes, he added. The former Rajya Sabha member said the task was to defeat the BJP to save India and defeat the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to save West Bengal. "We will work for the defeat of both (BJP and TMC) in Bengal... We will ensure this happens. "In Telangana, our objective is to defeat the BJP and ruling TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti")." Asked about the talk of Rahul Gandhi becoming Prime Minister in 2019, Yechury said: "Someone told me in 2004 that Sonia Gandhi was ready to become the Prime Minister. But did she become? "Do not predict about Indian politics... Decisions will be taken as the situation unfolds," he said. Yechury said his party welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala temple and said the RSS and BJP were opposing it for their political agenda to polarise people. He dared the BJP to bring a legislation in Parliament if it wanted to overturn the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages in the temple. The Left party condemned the ongoing violence in Gujarat against migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and attacks against CPI-M workers in Tripura. He also demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the Rafale deal, saying BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not succeeded in their "cover up" efforts. It was a major case of corruption, which had affected the country's sovereignty and security, he added. Yechury said said there was no need of money trail -- as claimed by the BJP -- to prove it as a scam because "law of political funding has so changed that anybody can buy electoral bonds, (which) are unknown, unaccountable. These bonds can be passed on to anybody".