Even as the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has cleared its stand of no alliance with the Congress at the Centre to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party’s Odisha unit is mulling to join hands with the Congress or any other national party against the BJD and the BJP in the State.
The party would give its candidates in 12 Assembly seats. However, a final decision would be taken after discussion with the Congress and the CPI, said senior CPI(M) leader Janardan Pati.
He said the ruling BJD has failed to address the core issues like unemployment and farmers’ problems. According to reports, the party will contest in one Lok Sabha seat in Odisha, i.e., Bhubaneswar.
The CPI(M) has decided to extend its support to the Congress to help the latter win more seats in the State, said Pati following a two-day meeting of his party on October 14 and 15 here attended by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
