Saturday, September 10 2005 19:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dhanbad (Jharkhand): The CPI-M (Communist Party of India - Marxist) today (Sep 10, 2005) made it clear that it would not forge any alliance with the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly election in Bihar, but would try to prevent split in the secular votes.

The party's politburo member, Brinda Karat, said here (Dhanbad) that the CPI-M had ideological differences with the Congress and just for the sake of secularism it did not wish to join any alliance with it. Rather, it would like to maintain equidistance between the Congress and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party).

However, Karat said, the party would try its best to check division of secular votes in the election. And keeping this in mind the leadership favoured formation of a third front which, she felt, was not possible without the Janata Dal (United) participating in it. But unfortunately, the JD-U is not in a mood to leave the BJP.

Talking to newsmen, Karat, who arrived here this morning to attend a party function, however clarified that the third front should be formed on the basis of policy and not as an electoral arrangement. ''It did not last long when experimented in the past.''

She said that her party had decided to go along with the RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) in Bihar and a seat-sharing formula would soon be finalised.

She denied that her party had been responsible for a division in the Left front in the state ahead of the poll, saying that the CPI-M and CPI (Communist Party of India) had contested Assembly election separately in the last edition.