
CPI(M), IUML blame differences in INDIA bloc for BJP’s Delhi poll win
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 8 (PTI) With the BJP getting ready to form the government in Delhi after more than 26 years, the CPI(M) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday expressed strong disappointment and said the differences in the INDIA block paved way for the saffron party's good show in the national capital.
Both the CPI(M) and the IUML are part of the INDI Alliance.
The Marxist party vehemently attacked the Congress and accused them of facilitating the victory of the BJP in Delhi.
The IUML, however, opted not to directly criticise the grand-old party, but made it clear that if the partners of the INDI Alliance fought the election unitedly, they could have successfully resisted the saffron party from coming into power.
When his reaction was sought, senior CPI(M) leader and the convenor of the ruling LDF, T P Ramakrishnan alleged that the Congress didn't support well for the effective functioning of the INDIA block.
"There was no support from the side of the Congress. If the party had taken the initiative, the alliance could have functioned more effectively. But, the grand old party didn't fulfill their responsibility," he told reporters here.
While answering a question, he said the presence of the Left is weak in a state like Delhi and if anyone who could do something there it was the Congress.
Accusing the Congress, he said the party did not adopt a favourable stand in taking the INDI Alliance together and united. "They adopted a stand facilitating the BJP to come to power in New Delhi," Ramakrishnan alleged.
CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan also shared similar views and alleged that the stand adopted by the Congress party to defeat the AAP was the reason for the BJP's victory in Delhi.
"The Congress is responsible for the BJP's victory. If the Congress and the AAP had stood together, there would have been 50 per cent votes," he told a press conference here.
Instead of forming an extensive anti-BJP front, the top leaders of the Congress party, including Rahul Gandhi, tried to criticise the AAP and ensure its defeat, he said.
The INDIA block suffered a huge blow because of this stand adopted by the grand-old party, Govindan alleged.
While reacting to the BJP's victory in the Delhi polls, veteran IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty said it would not have happened if the partners in the INDI Alliance stood united.
He said that the BJP has no strong vote base to come to power in any Indian state and it used to survive by making use of the differences among secular parties.
The difference in the INDIA block, a coalition of secular parties, helped the saffron party in the Delhi polls also, he said.
If everyone in the alliance stood together, the result would have been different, Kunhalikutty said.
When asked about whether it was the Congress which was the reason for the lack of unity in the opposition alliance, the IUML veteran, however, said there was no point in blaming a single party for the poll outcome.
"Everyone in the alliance should discuss this matter and evaluate the poll results," he said, adding that immediate steps should be taken not to repeat such things in future.
The circumstances in each state is different and the INDIA block should be able to overcome such differences to protect the Constitution of the country, Kunhalikutty added. PTI