The Communist Party of India (Marxist) will contest 16 seats and will offer support to “likeminded” candidates/parties in other constituencies in the Assembly elections.
Party Sate secretariat member G.N. Nagaraj told presspersons here on Saturday that his party would maintain equal distance from the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular).
Prominent among the candidates are G.V. Sreeramareddy from Bagepalli and Maruti Manpade from Gulbarga Rural Assembly Constituency. Others include candidates for Gowribidanur (G.C. Ashwathappa); Chintamani (C. Gopinath), Kolar Gold Fields (P. Thangaraj); Doddabalapur (R. Chandra Tejaswi); Krishnarajapura (Gowramma); Anekal (D. Mahesh); Malavali (K. Basavaraj); Mangalore South (Vasanth Achari); Mangalore (Krishnappa Salian); Belthangady (B.M. Bhat); Kampli (Shivashankar); Hospet (R. Bhaskar Reddy); Kanakagiri (A. Hulugappa) and Baindur (K. Shankar).
Mr. Nagaraj said both the Congress and the BJP have been responsible for the unprecedented corruption and steep increase in the prices of essential commodities. While the BJP looted Karnataka of its natural resources and farmers’ lands, the Congress “submerged in huge corruption”, has lost its moral right to question the BJP’s corrupt practices.
Even as the party wants the BJP to be unseated, it does not consider the Congress a suitable alternative. It would rather support like-minded parties in the constituencies where it is not contesting, Mr. Nagaraj said.
Sarvodaya Karnataka and Lok Satta Party are contesting 60 seats and the CPI(M) will support them.
