Date:04/02/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/02/04/stories/2004020402940400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

CPI to contest three Lok Sabha, 25 Assembly seats

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, FEB. 3. S. Sudhakar Reddy, Secretary of the State Council of the Communist Party of India, on Tuesday said his party would contest three Lok Sabha -- Nalgonda, Bhadrachalam and Peddapalli -- constituencies and about 25 Assembly seats in the coming general elections.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Reddy reiterated that the party would have an alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and an understanding with the Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samithi and hoped to firm up the agreements by February 20. This was despite the CPI (M) having reservations over the CPI's understanding with the TRS, which, he said, would not come in the way of the Opposition's strategy of avoiding a split in the secular vote.

In fact he went on to make the point that the Opposition parties should refrain from criticising one another over seat sharing and understanding in the interests of Opposition unity and the common agenda being defeating the TDP/BJP alliance.

Mr. Reddy criticised the Union Minister of State for Urban Development, B. Dattatreya, for describing in derogatory terms, the seat sharing agreement between the CPI and the TRS and wondered how the BJP's alliance with AIADMK in Tamil Nadu should be related. He also contested Mr. Dattatreya's claim that no one was rendered jobless under the BJP-led Government's rule and took the example of the closure of IDPL here, in his own constituency, whereas other units were working well in other parts of the country.

This apart, two other public sector units, a cement factory in Adilabad district and a fertilizer unit at Ramagundam, too were closed down, which meant hundreds of people losing their jobs. Does it not show Mr. Dattatreya's inefficiency, he asked, and challenged him saying he would quit politics if the former could disprove these charges.

Asked to comment on the Telugu Desam and BJP attempt to make the foreign origin of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president, a big issue in the coming elections, he said a non-issue is being played up by the TDP and BJP.