THE CPI (M) has fielded three candidates for the forthcoming Delhi state assembly polls: Ranjit Tiwari from Karawal Nagar; Madhu Diwakar from Burari and Prem Chand from Dwarka. As mentioned elsewhere in the paper, seven Left parties will be supporting each others’ candidates on 14 seats. The CPI (M) has appealed to the people of the constituencies from where its candidates are contesting to vote for them on the basis of the Party’s record of struggle for the rights of the working class, other toilers and women and its steadfast opposition to all kinds of communalism. Election campaign is in full swing in all three constituencies being contested by the CPI(M). In Karawal Nagar, teams of women and youth are concentrating on door to door campaigning and street corner meetings. Public meetings have also been held. On January 31, CITU state general secretary, M L Malkotia addressed a series of nukkad meetings in Sonia Vihar. This was followed by a well attended public meeting at Pushta 1, Sonia Vihar that was addressed by Jogendra Sharma, central secretariat member of the Party. On February 1, a rally comprising 60 motor cycles and open jeep with the candidate covered the entire constituency. Following this a public meeting was organised at Pushta 4 in Sonia Vihar. It was addressed by Tapan Sen, CITU general secretary, Sehba Farooqui, secretary, Delhi state AIDWA and Anurag Saxena, state secretariat member of the Party. On February 3, two public meetings were held in Karawal Nagar and Sadatpur that were addressed by Hanan Mollah, central secretariat member of the Party, K M Tiwari, secretary, Delhi State CPI(M) and Anurag Saxena. The Party’s campaign has elicited good response among the people. This can be attributed to the tradition of struggle on local issues by the Party, DYFI and JMS in the constituency. In the Burari constituency, a big public meeting was held in Mukandpur on February 1. It was addressed by Jogendra Sharma, Jagmati Sangwan, general secretary, AIDWA, K M Tiwari, Asha Sharma, state secretariat member of the Party and the candidate. Door to door campaigning, leafleting and nukkad meetings are the mainstay of the election campaign of the Party in Burari. The outstanding feature of the campaign in this constituency is the large number of women and youth involved in it. This can be explained by the track record of the candidate as a militant leader of the Janwadi Mahila Samiti and Party and the struggles and interventions of the Party, Mahila Samiti and DYFI on issues of PDS, hawker’s rights, crimes against women and the misdeeds of land mafias. A padyatra was organised on 5th in Mukundpur, Burari, and Jharoda areas under the constituency. In Dwarka, the Party has fielded a candidate who is a prominent leader of the hawkers union affiliated to the CITU in the area. The election campaign in this constituency comprises mainly of door to door campaigning, leafleting and nukkad meetings. On February 3, a padyatra with the candidate was organised with the candidate that covered Mahavir Enclave, Dabri, East Sagarpur etc. A similar padyatra was organised on February 5. A large number of youth are actively involved in the Party’s election campaign in the constituency. The response among the people is positive. This owes to the regular interventions of the Party, DYFI and CITU on a series of important problems facing the people including squatting rights of hawkers, water and electricity related issues; public distribution system, crimes against women etc. As stated earlier, the CPI(M) and six other Left parties are supporting each other on 14 seats. The question about who to vote on the remaining seats has been left for individual parties to decide. The CPI(M) state secretariat discussed this issue and has decided as under: i. On the seats not being contested by Left parties, we will ask our comrades and sympathisers to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party in order to defeat the BJP and the Congress. ii. Our support to AAP on seats not being contested by the Left, does not in any way mean an endorsement of its policies and politics. We have our own critical appraisal of the nature, agenda and practice of AAP. Our support to AAP is therefore restricted to asking our members and sympathisers to vote for them on the seats not being contested by the Left. Beyond this, we will not participate in any way in the election campaign of the AAP.