Comrades fight; CPI warns CPI-M in Kerala

RED OVER SEAT SHARING: Kerala's Left Democratic Front is squabbling over Ponnani.

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Thiruvananthapuram: The leading partners of Kerala’s Left Democratic Front government are in danger of splitting apart.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has told the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to give it the Ponnani seat or it would contest all the 18 Lok Sabha seats in the state alone.

The CPI alleges the CPI-M is working against the coalition's interests and blames CPI-M State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan for the rift.

The CPI it will take a final decision about sharing seats at a meeting of its state executive on March 16. "We will meet on March 16 and if they don't give us the Ponanni seat, we will put up our candidates in all seats, barring where the Kerala Congress (Joseph) is fighting and also where the Janata Dal-Secular is to get a seat," said CPI state secretary Veliyam Bharghavan on Friday after a meeting of senior leaders at the party headquarters.

“Since there has been an understanding with CPI(M), we have been contesting from Ponnani. The preson now proposed to contest from the seat is the candidate of Pinarayi Vijayan,” said Bharghavan.

“Even before announcement of candidature the new candidate has started campaigning. This is uncalled for--CPI won't bow down to pressure tactics. We wish to protect the Left Front not only here but across India but it can't be achieved by our efforts alone.”

IANS reports the CPI has been insisting on putting up its candidates for the Thiruvananthapuram, Trichur, Mavelikara and Ponnani seats. It was given the first three seats, but talks for Ponnani failed.

The CPI-M said a firm no to Ponanni seat, which the CPI has been contesting for long. The two parties held several rounds of talks were held, but failed.

Vijayan, who was accused of working against the Left alliance, said the CPI-M didn’t plan to take away any seat from the CPI. “We had discussed on how to defeat the Congress and Muslim League candidates from Ponnani. We have not thought about taking any seats of CPI,” said Vijayan.

“We have never thought about such a thing. There is no problem at all. We needed a person who could defeat the UDF (United Democratic Front) or Muslim League candidate from Ponnani,” he said.

In the 2004 elections, the CPI-M contested 14 seats, the CPI four and the JD-S and the Kerala Congress (Joseph) contested one seat each.

The Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Congress-S and the Nationalist Congress Party are also members of the ruling LDF that was formed in 1979. CPM-JDS relations have also been strained over seat allotment in the Kozhikode constituency.

Polls to the 20 Lok Sabha seats from Kerala are to be held on April 16.