Delhi Elections 2013: A verdict against Congress, not for BJP, says CPI

NEW DELHI: The Assembly poll results are a vote against Congress and not for the BJP as people are in quest for an alternative to both the parties, which they got in Delhi in form of the Aam Aadmi Party, CPI today said.

"It is a vote against Congress, reflecting disapproval of its policies and governance. The results are also not in favour of BJP, but the people have voted it only when they did not get an alternative. The vote doesn't mean the acceptance of BJP's politics.

"In Delhi, they got the alternative in the form of AAP and voted for it," CPI National Secretary D Raja said here.

In Rajasthan, the voters went against the Congress and elected BJP, while in Madhya Pradesh, Congress should have gained but the people did not favour it. But "specific local factors" were responsible for the much improved performance of the Congress in Chhattisgarh, he said.

"The results show that people are in the quest for an alternative to both Congress and BJP. The BJP won because there was no credible alternative. So, the quest for an alternative is the central issue," Raja said.

On the performance of the Left parties which had put up a few candidates in the four states, the CPI leader said the Left would have to "rejuvenate itself and rework in strategy" to strengthen its ties with the people and continue to carry out struggles on issues afflicting them.

The Left would also have to mobilise all secular and democratic forces at the national level to provide an alternative to both Congress and the BJP, Raja said.