New Delhi: Veteran communist leader A B Bardhan on Friday ruled out Congress or BJP coming to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and said the political space was open for regional parties and the Left to make a bid to form government.
Predicting that the two major parties would fail to achieve majority in Parliament after the elections, he said "the political space is open to the non-Congress non-BJP parties together with the Left and other democratic forces to form a new combination and make a bid for power."
In an article in the forthcoming issue of CPI organ `New Age`, Bardhan said the emergence of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Delhi "precisely shows that if the people see a viable alternative to the Congress and the BJP, they vote for it in large numbers. Disgusted with the two parties of the Establishment, they looked out for a third alternative."
Asserting that "the portents are clear" for both major parties, he said the Congress "can not hope to retain power as UPA-III as "it may not even secure more than 100 to 110 seats.
"As for the BJP, it may get about 30 or 40 more seats than before. But the 150 or so seats that it may get, is a far cry from the `272-plus` which is its announced goal."
Maintaining that Congress-led UPA had to "pay a heavy price for all its sins of omission and commission" -- from scams to price rise, unemployment and violence against women, Bardhan said the BJP was "trying to exploit the situation, taking advantage of the discontent and disillusionment of the people with the Congress."
But BJP held the "same outlook" as the Congress on economic and foreign policies. "In addition, the BJP is a communal party. The elevation of Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate has given an aggressive tone to its policy of Hindutva communalism," Bardhan said.
Observing that non-Congress non-BJP parties and the Left have to come together to make a bid for power, Bardhan said it was essential for these parties to spell out an "alternative" policy framework and programme to benefit the people.
Noting that international finance capital and big business have "fully used the Manmohan Singh government", he said now they no longer regarded "it as an efficient instrument for their own purposes."
"They look to the BJP as better and more efficient. Therefore they and the media which they control have launched a high-decibel campaign in favor of Modi.
"Glossing over the events of the 2002 Gujarat pogrom and the series of fake encounters that followed, the attempt is to package a new Modi, passing him off as a `secular` man. Of course, along with this extravagant propaganda blitz by Modi himself, the BJP is also carrying on its usual efforts to foment communal tension and riots, such as in Muzaffarnagar," the veteran CPI leader claimed.
On AAP, Bardhan said its future was "is yet uncertain. Is it an urban Delhi phenomenon or can it spread to other places, rural areas included?"
He also raised questions on what AAP`s policies would be in regard to economic issues and neo-liberal policy pursued by the Congress and BJP, their stand regarding fighting communalism to emerge as an alternative to both these parties.
"The AAP has yet to spell out on these basic issues. We have to wait and see how it evolves," he said.
