The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday announced that it will contest 16 seats independently in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and said it will support the strongest secular candidate in other segments to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Our party will contest 16 seats. We appeal to all secular parties to support us. Elsewhere, we will support the strongest secular candidate against the BJP," party Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury told media persons in New Delhi.

Maintaining that defeat of the 'communal' forces will be the top-most priority in these elections, he stressed that all secular forces should ensure that there was no split in their votes as it will only benefit the 'communal' forces.

The CPI (M), an erstwhile ally of the ruling Samajwadi Party, decided to contest the polls 'independently' as it was critical of several decisions of the SP-led government.

The major Left party has also decided not to join any combination which targets the SP, as it considered the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party to be the strongest secular force in the state.

In this backdrop, it has decided not to join the alliance of the V P Singh-led Jan Morcha, CPI and Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal. The party also feels that Bahujan Samaj Party could also not be trusted as it could realign with the BJP after the elections.

CPI (M) plans to contest in seats like Najibabad and Meja, which it had won in the 2002 polls. The other seats include Kadipur, Bhatpar Rani, Ballia Sadar, Mehnagar, Tundla, Ferozabad city, Chakia and Siyana. The party had contested six seats and won two in 2002 and eleven in 1996 and won four.

The decision to contest 16 seats in the upcoming polls was taken at a meeting of the party's UP state committee o Tuesday, which was also attended by CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat.