Chiranjeevi's close aide meets CPM leadership

HYDERABAD: A close aide of Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi met top CPI(M) leaders on Wednesday including party General Secretary Prakash Karat here, fuelling speculation that the actor's newly-launched Praja Rajyam may forge an alliance with the Left.
 
Dr P Mitra, a spokesman of Praja Rajyam, drove to the state CPI(M) headquarters and held a 30-minute meeting with Karat, Sitaram Yechury and state party secretary B V Raghavulu.
 
"It is too early to talk about alliances. We are just a one-week old party. The question of tie-ups will be decided at a later stage depending on the political situation," Mitra, who comes from a prominent communist family and has personal rapport with Left leaders, said.
 
He said he had an open-minded and broad discussion with the CPI(M) leaders on Praja Rajyam Party's policies and programmes and the general political situation.
 
"I have explained to them the direction in which the new party will go and its core agenda. Since it is their first visit to the city after our party's launch, I wanted to pay a courtesy call," Mitra said.
 
Asked whether Wednesday's meeting was a first step towards forging an alliance with the Left, he said, "It is too early to talk about alliances."
 
On CPI(M)'s insistence on secular credentials of new political allies, Mitra said, "Ours is a secular party."

CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said his party was making efforts to build a third alternative based on policies and programmes and any secular party was welcome to join the efforts.
 
"Mitra's meeting was only a courtesy call. No alliances were discussed," Yechury said.
 
Karat and Yechury are here to participate in the executive meeting of the party's Andhra Pradesh unit.