CPI general secretary AB Bardhan addresses a news conference in Patna on Monday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 30: CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan today claimed that the Congress would not do well in the Assembly elections in the five states and the results of the polls would have an impact on national politics.

“The Congress will fare badly in all five states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Punjab. In Uttar Pradesh, the Rahul Gandhi factor will not have much impact on the results. The Congress and the BJP are fighting for the third and the fourth slots. Uttar Pradesh will have a hung Assembly,” the veteran Communist leader told journalists here.

The CPI leader is camping in the Bihar capital to review preparations for the party’s 21st congress to be held between March 27 and 31.

Bardhan said though the Congress might have an edge over the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal alliance in Punjab because of the anti-incumbency factor, the Left bloc — comprising the CPI, the CPM, the Akali Dal (Longowal) and the Manpreet Singh Badal-led People’s Party of Punjab — has emerged as a formidable alternative on the poll turf. Punjab went to polls today.

The leader said it was time to nurture a comprehensive unity between the Left parties and “like-minded” democratic political groups, including regional outfits. He added: “We have to strengthen the Left unity across the country and the CPI will take the lead for this. We will include some regional like-minded parties in our effort to forge a broader Left-democratic unity that would be a formidable alternative to the Congress and the BJP.”

He took a dig at the Bihar government for failing to spend 50 per cent of its total plan outlay of Rs 24,000 crore in the current fiscal.

On corruption, Bardhan said Anna Hazare’s movement has raised the issue prominently across the country.