Maybe it comes with the territory, but it seems like Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury can spot secret plots everywhere. Earlier this week, he told the media in Kerala that the Congress party was secretly working with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to keep the Left out of power in the state.
Yes, you read that right. The same man whose party is allying with the Congress in West Bengal, claims in Kerala that the grand old party is working with arch-rivals in the RSS. And that's not the only bit of clandestine politicking that Yechury has sniffed out. Over the past few months, he has also told supporters that the Bharatiya Janata Party is conspiring with the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu and that in Bengal the BJP has a hidden alliance with the Trinamool Congress.
Evidently, the man sees plots wherever he goes. And he's not alone. As this year's election season comes to an end, here is a short list of all the secret alliances and plots that every side claimed the others were a party to.
Kerala
- The CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury claimed that the Congress and the RSS are "match fixing."
- But Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose party Janata Dal (United) is backing the Congress alliance in Kerala, claimed that CPI(M) "was trying to help BJP in Kerala also as they did in Bihar."
- Kerala chief minister Oomen Chandy, however, insisted that the CPI(M) is working with the BJP to keep the Congress out of power.
- Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah claimed that the Communists and the Congress are only fighting "for show" in Kerala.
Tamil Nadu
- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam treasurer MK Stalin insisted there was a "secret pact" between the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the BJP.
- Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan also thought the AIADMK and the BJP were working together.
- Congress president Sonia Gandhi also thought so.
- But the CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury thought that the BJP was "match fixing" with the Dravidian majors, allowing the saffron party to communalise the state while the AIADMK and DMK were carrying on with their corruption.
- Meanwhile, the DMK insisted that Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief V Gopalsamy, known as Vaiko, was plotting to keep the AIADMK in power.
- Vaiko himself thought the DMK wanted an alliance with the MDMK so that they could keep him out of power.
- Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa thought the Desiya Morpokku Dravida Kazhagam had in the past conspired to bring disrepute to the AIADMK.
- Currently, however, the DMDK and its allies in the People's Welfar Front think the DMK plotted to have some members revolt against DMDK chief Captain Vijayakanth.
- The Captain abides.
West Bengal
- The Trinamool Congress thought that the BJP conspired with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to carry out the Narada sting operation.
- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee even insisted that the BJP was in a "tacit alliance" with the Congress-Left combine.
- Yet the Congress was claiming that it was the BJP and the Trinamool Congress that were in a secret alliance.
- And Yechury, never one to miss a plot, claimed in the past that the BJP and the TMC had plotted together.
Assam:
- It's not as much of a conspiracy allegation, but the All India United Democratic Front's Badruddin Ajmal said the Congress was "hell bent" on dividing secular votes.
- Meanwhile, the BJP in Assam insisted that the Congress had a secret tie-up with Ajmal.
- And the Congress in Assam also insisted that the BJP was the one hiding an alliance with Ajmal.