Congress Not Main Player, Regional Adjustments Needed In Polls: Sitaram Yechury

New Delhi: The Congress is not the main player in many states and regional adjustments, based on the ground realities, have to be worked out during elections in which there can be no "macro-level" understanding, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has said.

"The diversity of our country reflects in everything, including politics. Now, SP and BSP get together in Uttar Pradesh. Neither the Left, nor the Congress is of any consequence (there). The same thing happened in Arariya (in Bihar)," he told PTI in an interview after being re-elected to the post at the CPI(M)'s Congress, which concluded on Sunday.

To questions about putting up a joint fight against the BJP, he said in several states, the Congress is "not the main player."

"That is why every front or (political) formation in India takes place only after elections. There will be regional adjustments. There will be regional level understandings. It cannot be a macro-level understanding. Political leaders also should realise this", he said.

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Soon after his re-election at the party congress, Mr Yechury began receiving hundreds of congratulatory messages, tweets and phone calls from various people including top leaders of the Congress, BSP, SP, and other Left and opposition parties.

While thanking them, he said several opposition party leaders called including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, BSP chief Mayawati and senior leaders of Samajwadi Party and other parties. Congress leaders have also tweeted and called.

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"I am really grateful to all of them. All of them are hoping that we will all work together," Mr Yechury said.

Mr Yechury, who was re-elected the CPI(M) General Secretary for another three-year term, had been targeted by a section of his party for his "minority view" on having an understanding with all secular democratic forces including the Congress to jointly take on the BJP.

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His political viewpoint was later adopted at the congress, the highest decision-making body of the party, as its officially approved political line.

He said "what will be done during elections depends on the ground realities ... The Central Committee would then take a decision".

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"But the question of any front or alliance with the Congress was never been the case earlier and would not happen now too," Mr Yechury said.

Talking about the prevailing political situation and the challenges of defeating BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Mr Yechury said though his party has always been the key element in formation of government of an alternate government like United Front or the UPA, it has never been part of the government but given outside support.

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"During Emergency, we never became part of the Janata Party government or the United Front ... We were key element forming that front but we were never there in the government. We gave outside support to that government. Even to the UPA, we gave outside support again. We have to keep in mind that both United Front and the UPA were formed after the elections. Our support from outside was based on a common minimum programme," Mr Yechury said.

He said it was only after the common minimum programme was drafted that "we gave our support. That's what we mean to say that it will depend on the policies.

"We have a long experience of all these fronts, but our decision is always to support them based on policies," he said.

To questions on the differences that came out in the open within the party at the five-day Congress in New Delhi, Mr Yechury is confident that the CPI(M) would work unitedly towards the goal of defeating the BJP.

"Party congress has decided what our line is. So now there cannot be any minority or majority. There should not be. The collective (political) line of the entire party has been decided now. So that is what there will be....an united party moving on the basis of the political line we have adopted at the congress", Mr Yechury said.