Kolkata: With veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu extremely forthcoming on supporting the Congress to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPM) Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri today (November 13) indicated that the party was still sticking to the stand of not forging any alliance with that party.

"There is no question of any alliance with the Congress. This is the stand of the party congress. We can't change this, only the party congress can change this," Yechuri told reporters as the CPM Politburo met in Kolkata.

He said, Assembly elections in five States and likelihood of elections in Andhra Pradesh would be discussed during the three-day deliberations of the Politburo and Central Committee.

"Events are moving fast. We will discuss these in the meeting," Yechuri said.

Basu meanwhile said, "I strongly feel that the party should back the Congress in five States to ensure the defeat of BJP. We shall discuss the issue threadbare in the Politburo meeting."

The CPM, he said, did not have any joint programme with the Congress in the States going to the polls, but would support the Congress and candidates of other parties to defeat BJP in constituencies where the party had not put up nominees.

Besides Yechuri, Basu and Prakash Karat, several other party leaders including general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet, West Bengal and Tripura Chief Ministers Buddhadev Bhattacherjee and Manik Sarkar, former Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar are participating in the discussions.

PTI