Patna: CPI Monday predicted a hung assembly
in Uttar Pradesh after the February polls in the state and said the charisma of AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi will
not work there.
``It doesn`t seem that Rahul Gandhi has succeeded in
changing the of mood of the people of Uttar Pradesh ... It is
not yet apparent that Congress has been able to increase its
mass base in the state,`` CPI General Secretary AB Bardhan
claimed while talking to newsmen here.
``Congress might be able to increase its tally by one to
four but it is clear that the grand old party and BJP are
contesting for the third and fourth positions,`` he said
adding there would be a straight contest between ruling BSP
and the Samajwadi Party in the February polls.
Referring to the assembly polls in the ongoing round of
assembly polls in another four states, Bardhan said Congress
was likely to reap `some electoral harvest` in Punjab due to
the anti-incumbency wave there but Manpreet Singh Badal-led
Peoples Party of Punjab, with which CPI has an alliance, was a
strong alternative.
The results of the assembly polls in the five states -
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa would
have a far-reaching impact on the politics of country, he said
and praised the heavy voter turnout in Manipur despite the
violence unleashed by militants.
PTI
