The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Tuesday said it would not enter into any alliance or united front with the Congress while continuing to adopt tactics to isolate and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'The party differentiates between the BJP and the Congress, considering the latter as a secular bourgeois party, though it vacillates when the communal forces take the offensive,' the party said in its political resolution adopted on the fourth day of its ongoing 19th party congress in Coimbatore.
Asked if the decision applies for the states too, politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai said it was an all-India line and the party was determined to stick to it.
"Even in states where a regional party leads the alliance where the Congress is a member, we are not part of that
alliance. We merely offer our support. Like in Tamil Nadu, where we have very good relations with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam but are not part of the Democratic Progressive Alliance," he said.
The political resolution also set out three other important tasks for the party, he said.
"The party has decided that it must give priority to developing its independent strength and expanding its political base. We have decided to take up class and mass issues and agitate and initiate struggles for these issues," Pillai said.
Stressing the importance of forming a third alternative, he said the party would maintain relations with all the non-Congress secular parties on common issues. "The party must take the initiative for forming the third alternative and strengthen Left unity to facilitate this work," Pillai said.
"The Left is not relying on any political force to grow. The alliances and understanding with regional parties is only to take care of certain electoral tasks," he added.
On the measures that the United Progressive Alliance had decided to take following a Cabinet meeting on price rise, Pillai said: "These measures are not fruitful to contain price rise."
The party also discussed ways and means to strengthen its membership base, Pillai said.
"The party membership increased by 1,14,392 in the last three years. This growth, however, is uneven and is concentrated in the three Left-ruled states - West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura," he said.
He said 40 per cent of the members were under 40 years of age, while 11 per cent were women.
"We have to grow in the Hindi belt. We are a weak force in these areas. Our enemies are very strong in there. There are various factors for this. We will have to address these factors and also increase the pace at which we need to grow in these areas," Pillai said when asked about the party's lack of presence and influence in the Hindi-dominant states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
He also sought to play down the high attrition rate among the party cadre and members. "There are various reasons for people dropping out of the party. Some might have moved to other states for work. The inactivity of the leadership in some states is a matter of concern. If the attrition is because of our organisations's shortcomings, we will rectify it," Pillai said.