LUCKNOW: Having decided to go it alone, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will contest 14 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Talking to The Hindu after a State committee meeting here on Tuesday, CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat said the party would have no alliance with the Samajwadi Party as it was unhappy with some policies of the Mulayam Singh Government.

"At the same time, we will not join any combination which targets the Samajwadi Party."

While reiterating that the top priority was to defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party and prevent a division of the anti-BJP vote, Mr. Karat placed the Bahujan Samaj Party on an equal footing with the BJP. Going by the BSP's record in Uttar Pradesh, he did not rule out the possibility of that party and the BJP realigning after the elections.

As was decided at the December 2006 State Committee meeting, the CPI (M) would appeal to other secular-democratic parties not to contest in the constituencies where the party was in the fray.

The CPI (M) would cooperate with those parties which could defeat the BJP.

The CPI (M) would contest in Najibabad, Meja, both reserved seats which the party won in 2002; Kadipur (Sultanpur district), Bhatpar Rani (Deoria), Mehnagar (Azamgarh), Ballia Sadar, Chakia — reserved (Chadauli), Gangapur (Varanasi), Rajgarh (Mirzapur-Sonebhadra), Soron (Etah), Soraon (Allahabad), Firozabad City, Tundla — reserved ( Firozabad) and Siyana (Bulandshahr).

In the 2002 Assembly elections, the CPI (M) contested six seats and won two and earlier in 1996, it won four out of 11 seats.

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