The Hindu : Cheriyan to float Left Front

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Cheriyan to float Left Front

By Our Staff Reporter

KOLLAM, FEB. 25. The trade union leader and prime organiser of the EMS-AKG-BTR Janakeeya Vedi, V.B. Cheriyan, has said that the Vedi is floating a Left Front with the intention of fielding candidates from several States including Kerala for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Talking to press persons here today, he said that more than the prospects in store for the proposed Left Front in the elections, it is with the aim of setting in motion a true Left movement that the Lok Sabha elections will be used by the Vedi. When asked whether he would contest, Mr. Cheriyan replied in the negative. ``I will have to concentrate on managing the poll campaign,'' he said.

He said that apart from Kerala, the Left Front would be fielding candidates from the States of Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra. While there is a `so-called Left Front' in West Bengal, that front is controlled by rightist characters. Thus there is the need for a genuine revolutionary Left combination, claimed Mr. Cheriyan.

The Vedi is already a political force and the ultimate aim is to transform it into a political party. The thrust of his Left Front's campaign would be one centred around exposing the harmful effects of the economic policies pursued by the Centre. The fact is that all the past five ministries at the Centre had not only been promoting harmful economic policies, but the successive Governments had taken up the task of promoting such policies with more and more vigour. In fact the mainstream political parties are striving for the successful implementation of these harmful economic policies. He said that at the national level there are three major political alliances for the coming elections. He said that the Left Front visualised by him has a large backing from the CPI(M) itself and that the recent developments within that party centring around the controversies related to the Fourth World concept and the Peoples Plan Campaign have in fact generated more support from that party for his movement.

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