Now, CPI mulls poll alliance with AGP

GUWAHATI: The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which suffered a major setback after Sarbananda Sonowal deserted the party and joined BJP, has got some sort of support from the CPI with elections barely a few months away. On Thursday, the Left party said it was open to forge electoral ties with regional parties like the AGP to uproot Congress from Dispur.
"Our main aim is to fight corruption and win the elections.Congress keeps corruption alive at all levels," said Drupad Borgohain, the national council member of the CPI's state executive.
"Our party wants to be united with regional parties like AGP and other left parties like CPM and CPI(ML). We should be united to defeat Congress in the coming assembly elections," he added.
Expressing concern over "corruption" in the state, the only CPI member in the state assembly said, "This is the time to teach Congress a lesson because it has not taken any meaningful initiative to stop corruption."
Though the CPI is yet to take a decision on seat-sharing with any party for the elections, the Left party leadership has received the list of candidates submitted by its district committees and is at present scrutinizing it. "The final list will be announed by February 28," said Borgohain said.
According to sources, the CPI will take its decision of seatsharing or forging poll understandings with other parties at a meeting to be held here on February 28. In the 2006 assembly elections, CPI had won only one seat that was from the Nazira constituency in Sivasagar district of upper Assam. Earlier, former chief minister late Hiteswar Saikia had represented the seat many a time.