With an aim to defeat the BJP in forthcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and to stop the division of the opposition votes, a delegation of the CPI(ML) leaders on Wednesday, held a closed-door meeting with the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.Led by CPI(ML) general secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya, the Communist party delegation, as per sources, discussed strategies – based on progressive agenda – to turn the public opinion in favor of “secular politics”.According to the statement issued by the Communist Party, leaders of both sides discussed scores of issues ranging from unemployment to farm distress to rising hatred against the minorities in the state.The meeting between the Communist Party and the Samajwadi Party which ruled UP for years provided much-needed boost to the Oppositions unity, believe many.Sources, however, claimed while the meeting was aimed at sealing a pact, seat-sharing was not the prime agenda on the discussion table.“Both parties want to stitch an alliance to stop the split among anti-BJP votes,” said a source.When asked, Dipankar Bhattacharya did not say anything on seat-sharing, reported news agency UNI.The CPI(ML) has been credited for bringing left parties together in Bihar to form an alliance of secular parties with the RJD at the front during the last assembly polls.The CPI(ML) won 12 out of the 19 seats it contested in 2020 in Bihar.It is worth noting here that instead of forging an alliance with the big parties like Congress or BSP – the main rival of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, SP has forged alliance with smaller parties having small caste base support.In the first week of November last year, the SP sealed an alliance with Om Prakash Rajbhar led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP).Rajbhar is a former BJP ally. In the 2017 UP assembly elections, the SBSP had won four seats after contesting on eight.In 18 districts of Uttar Pradesh, there are around 25-30 constituencies where Rajbhars are high in number — including up to 1 lakh in some of them.UP observers believe BJP gained significantly in eastern UP, growing from 14 seats in 2012 to 72 in 2017 due to support from the caste base smaller parties.Though, the supporters of the Communist party are not condensed in a particular region, as per UP watchers, the party enjoys considerable influence over electorates in areas adjacent to Bihar.“There are many pockets in Azamgarh, Ghazipur where CPI(ML)’s support to SP can prove winning,” said an observer.
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