Communists, socialists should unite to defeat BJP: Dipankar Bhattacharya

PATNA: CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Thursday called for an alliance between the communists, socialists and other like-minded parties to defeat BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He dubbed the party’s rally at Gandhi Maidan here on Thursday as the “declaration of popular intent” to oust PM Narendra Modi from power at the Centre. The rally – ‘Bhajapa Bhagao, Loktantra Bachao (oust BJP, save democracy)’ – was attended by people from across the state.

“The way people have participated in the rally shows that they are longing for Modi’s ouster. His time to go has arrived. People present here have made a declaration of their intent,” Dipankar said.

While calling for “respectable” seat-sharing among the Grand Alliance partners in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Dipankar said alliance or no alliance, the opposition parties should remain committed to defeating the BJP.

State secretaries of other major Left parties, including Satya Narayan Singh of CPI and Awadhesh Kumar of CPI (M), two former ministers Alok Mehta and Shiv Chandra Ram from the Lalu Prasad-led RJD and former state assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary from Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal also addressed the rally.

Ram said the RJD’s participation in the rally had the approval of Lalu and the leader of opposition in state assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. The CPI (ML) had made a formal appeal to all the anti-NDA parties to participate in the rally. However, the Congress, like in the case of human chain formed by the Left parties earlier this month, did not participate in the rally.