Whether or not the ongoing 23rd party congress of the CPI(M) in Kannur will reach a consensus on cooperating with the Congress to fight the BJP, the Central leaderships of the two rival parties seem to be thinking in a similar fashion on the relevance of the CPI(M) on the national political spectrum.
Both BJP and Congress leaders who are keenly watching deliberations at the meeting feel that the CPI(M) remains a regional player only in Kerala, the last Left State.
“Certainly the CPI(M) is a major force in the State. And now, the Kerala unit is the de facto Polit Bureau defining and deciding its political line,” All India Congress Committee general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal told The Hindu.
The BJP, which is celebrating its 42nd foundation day with a bouquet of activities till April 14, sees the CPI(M) meeting as a political pastime scarcely resonating with the new generation.
“But it is a political event, and we observe all political events. Now they have been reduced to a single State and they have to make noise only in Kerala. And there also their days are numbered. The K-Rail project will do them in,” says B.L. Santhosh, BJP national general secretary (organisation).
“The BJP will officially react when they come out with their political resolution,” Mr. Santhosh adds.
Relevance of Cong.
On the thorny issue of the Left-Congress relationship, however, Mr. Venugopal says CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury is more pragmatic in knowing the importance of the Left parties working with the Congress.
“Without the Congress, an anti-BJP platform will not synchronise in India. Only the Congress has credibly and consistently opposed the BJP in all States. Even the melange of parties of the so-called third front has fraternised with the BJP at one time or the other,“ he says.
Mr. Venugopal says the Congress might have lost national and State elections but the contemporary political relevance of a party with a pan-India presence continues to be intact.
“Now look at the way the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala is straying from its ideological moorings and greeting corporate entities with open arms. Its degree of doublespeak is seen in opposing the bullet train in Maharashtra and rooting for the SilverLine project in Kerala,“ Mr. Venugopal says, adding that the anti-BJP rhetoric of the CPI(M) is to hoodwink minority communities.
