CPM sceptical of Prakash Karat stand on Congress tieup

Former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat’s reported posturing that the party could join hands with the Congress during the West Bengal polls was being viewed with suspicion by his own party members. While Mr Karat sounded somewhat positive about a proposed Congress-CPI(M) pre-poll alliance, his camp was being accused of trying to “sabotage any such move”. A senior party functionary argued that despite his public posturing, Mr Karat has not given up his strong opposition to the Congress.

During the recently concluded CPI(M) plenum in Kolkata, gauging the mood of the party cadre in West Bengal, Mr Karat tried to sound somewhat positive about a possible electoral alliance with the Congress. Describing the political situation in Bengal as “extraordinary”, Mr Karat had said, “There is a popular demand in Bengal to form an alliance with other parties not part of the Left Front to defeat the authoritarian TMC.”

Even as the plenum resolved to employ “flexible tactics” to deal with “swift changes” that may occur in emerging political situations, some felt Mr Karat’s camp could try create hurdles. In fact, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury, the “moderate face” of the party, “is open to flexible political tactics”, a CPI(M) functionary said. He reminded that though Mr Yechury toed the party line, he had viewed Mr Karat’s move during his tenure as CPI(M) boss to snap ties with the Congress during the 2009 general election as “politically immature”. The Congress returned to power as the CPI(M)-led Left recorded its worst ever performance.

The Karat team, which has not yet given a green signal to the possibility of a CPI(M)-Congress electoral tie-up in Bengal, in fact argued that such a move could affect the party’s prospects in Ker-ala, where the Congress is the main Opposition. Kerala will also go to polls along with Bengal in a few months. Speaking to the media in Kolkata, senior CPI(M) leader from Kerala and politburo member M.A. Baby said: “We have adopted an official political line in the last party congress. So the electoral tactical line of the respective states can’t be contradictory to the official line. Whatever electoral tactical line we adopt in Kerala or West Bengal should not be contradictory or harmful to each other.” The signal was loud and clear. The CPI(M) leadership has asked the Bengal unit to discuss the matter in January and send a proposal in this regard to the central committee and politburo for a final call

It may be recalled that Bengal CPI(M) leaders were looking at the option of forging an alliance with the Congress. Former Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had admitted that the Left parties still have some “deficiencies in terms of strength” in taking on the Trinamul Congress on their own.

As far as Left unity over aligning with the Congress was concerned, there seemed to be a great divide. “We feel both BJP and Congress are capitalist forces. We should maintain equidistance from both these parties. Our party’s stand is clear. We are not in favour of aligning with the Congress in order to take on the TMC in West Bengal. The Left will alone take on the ruling party,” Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas had told news agencies in Kolkata.