No Poll Alliance With Congress: CPM Leader Sitaram Yechuri

Bhubaneswar: CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuri on Monday made it clear that his party will have no alliance with the Congress in the ensuing Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha next year.

Talking to mediapersons here during his one-day visit to the state, Yechuri said for the Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, CPM will field its candidate only for Bhubaneswar while for the Assembly elections it will announce the name of the candidates on the basis of their popularity. “We will have no alliance with the Congress and we will oppose both BJP and the BJD,” he said.

Lashing out at the BJP government at the Centre, the CPM leader said the economy of the country has crumbled since the last three years. “The price of the petrol and diesel which was reduced by the BJP government a month ago has again gone up. During the tenure of the BJP government, the farmers and the agriculture sector have sustained a massive loss for which there has been a countrywide farmers’ agitation,” he pointed out.

Referring to the very severe cyclonic storm Titli, which ravaged the three South Odisha districts of Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts, he said contrary to the Kerala government which had deftly managed the unprecedented flood, the Odisha government has failed to tackle the situation effectively.