From correspondents in Delhi, India, 08:00 PM IST

The Left parties have okayed the alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and some regional parties for the Oct 13 Maharashtra assembly polls, a senior communist leader said Sunday.

'We okayed the alliance formed at the state-level. The central leadership did not play any major role in forming the alliance,' Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member M.K. Pandhe told IANS here.

The 18-party coalition, the Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF), also includes five factions of the Republican Party of India (RPI).

Pandhe said there was no discussion among national leaders of these parties for the Maharashtra alliance.

'Quite a sizeable number of parties have joined together and decided to fight elections together. We just gave our approval to it. But the alliance will bag a number of seats,' he said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)