The Communist Party of India on Thursday claimed that the results of the recent assembly polls in several states clearly showed that parties other than the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had polled 'significant' percentage of votes and it was 'perfectly possible' for a non-Congress anti-communal combine to garner support.
Referring to the post-poll situation in 1989, 1996 and 2004, senior party leader Sitaram Yechury said, "It is perfectly possible, this time around, for a non-Congress, anti-communal forces combine to garner enough support for an alternative."
In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'People's Democracy', Yechury said the United Progressive Alliance "seems to be in a state of euphoria following its successes in recent rounds of assembly elections of returning to power at the Centre."
"This is reminiscent of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance's euphoria on the eve of the last general elections. On the back of its slogan 'Shining India', NDA was hoping to return to power," he said.
"The 2009 general elections must give the mandate for a decisive shift in the policy trajectory of our country. This can only be brought about by a political alternative, a people's alternative that is capable of bringing about such a shift," he said.
Yechury said the 'people see very little difference' between the policies pursued by the BJP and the Congress. "It is clear that if a political alternative based on sound alternative policies is forged, then people's acceptance can be mustered," he said.
