Blame it on the Modi factor or electoral necessity, but the faint outline of an axis that could coalesce into a post-poll secular front has started taking shape despite the general perception that both the Congress and the Left have run out of energy. The low-key revival of the Congress-Communist axis can be glimpsed not only in the statements of leaders on both sides, but also in the actual adjustments and alliances that have started emerging in disparate regions.
The latest indicator comes from the newly-formed state of Telangana, where an electoral alliance between the Congress and the Communist Party of India is likely to be announced soon. As per the understanding, the Congress has agreed to leave one Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats for the CPI, though the last-minute talks are still on.
The alliance is likely to provide some relief to both parties. The Congress suffered a setback after the Telangana Rashtra Samithi declined to merge or even align with it. The CPI had held seat adjustment talks with the TRS but the Telangana party refused to accede to its demands. The Congress leadership seized the initiative and agreed to the CPI's requests. “Our alliance with the Congress is almost finalised,” CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy told Scroll.in on Monday.
While the alliance was being agreed upon in Telangana, a tactical adjustment between the Congress and the CPI was sought to be given final shape in Punjab. “But unfortunately, due primarily to some initial reservations of the CPI, we had to take some decisions which have now become a major roadblock for entering into seat adjustment in Punjab,” a senior Congress leader said.
Initially, the Congress had agreed to leave the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat for People’s Party of Punjab candidate Manpreet Singh Badal and the Faridkot constituency for the CPI. In the beginning, the CPI did not respond to the offer, even as it decided to support Badal, who will be contesting on the Congress symbol.
Talk of seat sharing had been revived when Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh phoned a member of the CPI secretariat on March 22, requesting the party to withdraw its candidate from Amritsar and support him instead. For some time, the CPI leadership remained divided about an understanding. “By the time the CPI’s state executive met in Chandigarh on March 30 and decided on trading off Amritsar for Faridkot, we had released our list of candidates which included one for Faridkot as well,” a Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.
For the Congress, the support of the CPI would be significant. The CPI got a little over 20,000 votes in 2009 Parliamentary elections from Bathinda. In the 2012 assembly elections, it contested two assembly seats in this parliamentary constituency – Mansa and Bathinda rural – and got around 50,000 votes. In many other seats in Punjab, including Amritsar, Faridkot, Sangrur, Gurdaspur and Patiala, the Left parties have a support base that is not large enough to allow their candidates win, but becomes significant in close races.
Despite the hurdles, a senior Congress leader said that the party is still hopeful of expanding the adjustment beyond Bathinda.
In addition to the talks between the Congress and the CPI, there are also signs that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is debating support for the Congress, much in the same way as it did in 2004, when the two sides joined hands to dislodged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
That became clear last week when the Marxist leaders in Kolkata gathered to release the party’s manifesto. Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the CPI-M would support the Congress “only if a situation like 2004 arises and that there is no other way”. His statement touched off criticism inside the party. Many CPI-M leaders felt that his statement was premature.
“There is general feeling in our comrades that communalism has assumed a menacing shape in the country,” said CPI’s Sudhakar Reddy. “This has led to softening of our comrades’ attitude towards Congress.”
The Congress hasn’t been silent on the possibility of an alliance with the Communist parties. On March 30, at Kasargod in Kerala, Congress leader and Defence Minister AK Antony asked the Left to prove its commitment to secularism and national unity by supporting the Congress after the elections. “If the CPI-M is sincere in their pronounced aim to keep the communal forces at bay, they will have to co-operate with a front under the Congress leadership,” he said. “If they are ready to co-operate, we will accept it.”
These developments seem similar to the circumstances that preceded the 2004 elections, when the BJP, riding high on its slogan of “India Shining”, appeared to be returning with a thumping majority. For the time being though, the communists will continue to attack both – the Congress for its neo-liberal policies and the BJP for its divisive politics.
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The latest indicator comes from the newly-formed state of Telangana, where an electoral alliance between the Congress and the Communist Party of India is likely to be announced soon. As per the understanding, the Congress has agreed to leave one Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats for the CPI, though the last-minute talks are still on.
The alliance is likely to provide some relief to both parties. The Congress suffered a setback after the Telangana Rashtra Samithi declined to merge or even align with it. The CPI had held seat adjustment talks with the TRS but the Telangana party refused to accede to its demands. The Congress leadership seized the initiative and agreed to the CPI's requests. “Our alliance with the Congress is almost finalised,” CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy told Scroll.in on Monday.
While the alliance was being agreed upon in Telangana, a tactical adjustment between the Congress and the CPI was sought to be given final shape in Punjab. “But unfortunately, due primarily to some initial reservations of the CPI, we had to take some decisions which have now become a major roadblock for entering into seat adjustment in Punjab,” a senior Congress leader said.
Initially, the Congress had agreed to leave the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat for People’s Party of Punjab candidate Manpreet Singh Badal and the Faridkot constituency for the CPI. In the beginning, the CPI did not respond to the offer, even as it decided to support Badal, who will be contesting on the Congress symbol.
Talk of seat sharing had been revived when Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh phoned a member of the CPI secretariat on March 22, requesting the party to withdraw its candidate from Amritsar and support him instead. For some time, the CPI leadership remained divided about an understanding. “By the time the CPI’s state executive met in Chandigarh on March 30 and decided on trading off Amritsar for Faridkot, we had released our list of candidates which included one for Faridkot as well,” a Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.
For the Congress, the support of the CPI would be significant. The CPI got a little over 20,000 votes in 2009 Parliamentary elections from Bathinda. In the 2012 assembly elections, it contested two assembly seats in this parliamentary constituency – Mansa and Bathinda rural – and got around 50,000 votes. In many other seats in Punjab, including Amritsar, Faridkot, Sangrur, Gurdaspur and Patiala, the Left parties have a support base that is not large enough to allow their candidates win, but becomes significant in close races.
Despite the hurdles, a senior Congress leader said that the party is still hopeful of expanding the adjustment beyond Bathinda.
In addition to the talks between the Congress and the CPI, there are also signs that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is debating support for the Congress, much in the same way as it did in 2004, when the two sides joined hands to dislodged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
That became clear last week when the Marxist leaders in Kolkata gathered to release the party’s manifesto. Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the CPI-M would support the Congress “only if a situation like 2004 arises and that there is no other way”. His statement touched off criticism inside the party. Many CPI-M leaders felt that his statement was premature.
“There is general feeling in our comrades that communalism has assumed a menacing shape in the country,” said CPI’s Sudhakar Reddy. “This has led to softening of our comrades’ attitude towards Congress.”
The Congress hasn’t been silent on the possibility of an alliance with the Communist parties. On March 30, at Kasargod in Kerala, Congress leader and Defence Minister AK Antony asked the Left to prove its commitment to secularism and national unity by supporting the Congress after the elections. “If the CPI-M is sincere in their pronounced aim to keep the communal forces at bay, they will have to co-operate with a front under the Congress leadership,” he said. “If they are ready to co-operate, we will accept it.”
These developments seem similar to the circumstances that preceded the 2004 elections, when the BJP, riding high on its slogan of “India Shining”, appeared to be returning with a thumping majority. For the time being though, the communists will continue to attack both – the Congress for its neo-liberal policies and the BJP for its divisive politics.