Rallying secular parties different from poll alliances: Yechury

New Delhi, Oct 16 : Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday said rallying secular and like-minded parties against the communal forces represented by the BJP-RSS is "different from forging elections alliances".

Yechury's remarks came at a press conference at the conclusion of the three-day meet here of the party's Central Committee.

The CPI-M General Secretary consistently avoided media queries whether there was any discussion and/or conclusion over forging a poll alliance with the Indian National Congress.

"The CPI-M has always been for rallying secular parties against communal ones, but that does not translate into a poll alliance. That is altogether different," he said.

According to sources, a faction in the party has been advocating for forging an alliance with the Congress party while another faction is against the idea, primarily due to Congress's "neo-liberal economic policies", among other things.

Yechury said the issue whether the CPI-M should forge an election alliance with any party will be decided by the CPI-M's party Congress to be held from April 18-22 next year.

Yechury said that till the party Congress decides otherwise, the last resolution of opposing the Indian National Congress will continue.

At the 21st party Congress held in April 2015 at Vishakhapatnam, it had adopted the resolution of having "no understanding or electoral alliance with the Congress".

The resolution read: "While the main direction of the struggle is against the BJP, the Party will continue to oppose the Congress. It has pursued neo-liberal policies and it is the Congress-led UPA government's anti-people policies and massive corruption which helped the BJP acquire popular support. The Party will have no understanding or electoral alliance with the Congress."

However, in the changing political scenario when the BJP juggernaut led by Modi-Shah is apparently looking unstoppable in the near future, there are voices in the Leftist party to review its political strategy.