Mumbai: Disgruntled with the Congress-NCP for not leaving them the Dindori Lok Sabha seat, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday, extended support to the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) led by legislator Hitendra Thakur for the Palghar seat. For the first time, the CPI-M is not contesting this seat. Meanwhile, Thakur has said he is still awaiting a response from the Congress-NCP.
The NCP announced its candidate for Dindori last week, in keeping with the seat-sharing formula with its ally, the Congress. The CPI-M had claimed the seat in the anticipation that the NCP would include it in the grand-alliance. However, the alliance kept aside smaller allies like the CPI, the CPI-M, the BVA and other factions.
A disappointed office-bearer of the CPI-M, Ashok Dhawale, said, “We will field a candidate for the Dindori LS seat, where the BVA will support us, while we will support the BVA candidate in Palghar. The BJP is the common enemy of the CPI-M and the BVA. That is why, aiming to avoid division in votes, we have decided to support each other.”
Thakur said negotiations were on with the Congress and the NCP. Speaking about the party candidate, Thakur said he would replace the previous candidate, Baliram Jadhav. “This time, we will not give a ticket to Baliram Jadhav. We will announce a name very soon,” he said. – FPJ Political Bureau
