Kolkata, February 13 CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said on Friday that his party was willing to cooperate with the Congress wherever possible, including in West Bengal, provided it "realizes" the importance of working with secular, democratic, and progressive forces.
Addressing a press conference at the party's state headquarters here, Baby alleged that the Congress was adopting a "sectarian approach" in some places.
He said that the CPI(M) is willing to cooperate with the Congress wherever possible, but that is "only when the Congress also realizes the importance of working with secular, democratic, and progressive forces".
"However, in some places, the Congress is refusing to recognize the importance of cooperation among such forces. The Congress wants to adopt a sectarian approach, and that is what they are doing in West Bengal," he alleged.
Baby said that there may be a fight among the INDIA bloc partners in some states due to state compulsions, but that should not be taken to the extent where the BJP takes advantage.
Baby said that the INDIA bloc, of which the CPI(M), Congress, and the TMC are constituents, is "state-specific".
He said that when the bloc was formed, it was made clear that in a vast country like India, how political cooperation among members would evolve depends on the state-specific situation.
"Sometimes, Mamata Banerjee is also part of the INDIA bloc, while sometimes you don't know where she is," he said.
Alleging that the TMC is running a "corrupt and anti-people government which compromises with communalism as and when needed", he said that the task of the CPI(M)-led Left Front is to defeat the party in the upcoming elections.
"At the same time, we will be fighting to expose and defeat the efforts of the BJP to expand its influence in West Bengal," he said.
Expressing confidence about a resurgence of the Left forces in the state, he said that discussions were on with other entities, and there was a discernible possibility of expanding the Left Front in the state.
Baby, who was present at the party’s state secretariat meeting where preparations for the polls were discussed, said that reports submitted at the meeting indicated a positive outlook, with larger participation of youth in people-centric initiatives undertaken by the Left.
Admitting that the Left Front had faced setbacks, having failed to open its account in the 2021 assembly elections and the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, he exuded confidence that the alliance would bounce back.
He said that the CPI(M) was trying to mobilize all sections of society to fight the BJP nationally and the TMC in Bengal.
Calling the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls 'special intensive removal' of electors, he alleged that the poll panel, which is expected to be impartial, was functioning as "an office of the BJP", and said it should act as a neutral referee like in a football match.
Baby also expressed hope that the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala and the DMK dispensation in Tamil Nadu would return to power in the upcoming assembly elections in those states.