Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 5 (IANS): The regional parties should unite ahead of the general elections so that the Congress and the BJP can be defeated, said a CPI-M leader Wednesday.

Pinarayi Vijayan, state secretary of the party, told reporters the country's main enemy today is the Congress and it's now certain that it cannot return to power.

"Similarly the BJP also has to be kept out. Then no single party can come to power and it's here that the regional parties should come together ahead of the elections.

"It's because of that the CPI-M has tied up with the AIADMK," said Vijayan.

He said the need of the hour now is to think in terms of a pre-poll alliance and after that the aspect of the third front is expected to materialise.

"The Left alone cannot come to power and hence it will garner the support of parties like AIADMK, JD (S), BJD, Assam Gana Parishad, Samajwadi Party to name a few and mind you most of these parties also have a similar view on policies and programmes that, we the Left has.

"But the primary objective is to keep out both the Congress and BJP," said Vijayan who is currently on a state wide trip.

Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats and in the 2009 polls, the Left alliance took a severe drubbing when it could win just four seats.