Kolkata, (Samajweekly) A uniform structure of alliance among all the allies of the grand opposition INDIA bloc in all states is not practical and there also cannot be a strait-jacket formula in case of seat-sharing agreements in the matter, the top leadership of CPI(M) has made it clear.
Both the party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and his predecessor Prakash Karat have given the contentions in their respective articles penned by the two at the festive edition of a vernacular party organ.
According to Yechury, while in West Bengal, the Congress and his CPI-M are in an understanding, in Kerala, the principal contest is between Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
In case of West Bengal, he said that the CPI-M’s principal aim is to unite all secular and democratic forces against both Trinamool Congress and BJP, despite the state’s ruling party being a constituent of the INDIA bloc.
Similarly, Karat has argued that any specific programme-based alliance which will be uniform for all states is totally impractical.
According to him, even in the Lok Sabha polls there will be state-specific political and campaigning lines.
“Just as in West Bengal, we are against both Trinamool Congress and BJP in West Bengal, in Kerala, our principal opponent is Congress,” Karat said.
Political observers feel that although both the CPI-M leaders have described the BJP and the Trinamool as equal enemies in West Bengal, in reality, the ruling party is the principal enemy in the state with the saffron camp being the secondary foe.
“For CPI-M, the only survival option in West Bengal is hard-core opposition to Trinamool. Whatever support base that continues to have in West Bengal among their dedicated voters is because these loyalist voters are more anti-Trinamool, rather than being anti-BJP. So any compromise in this hardcore anti-Trinamool stand will give a major blow to these continuing dedicated and dyed-in-the-wool voters. In such a situation, there is a possibility that one section of these loyalist voters might shift to the BJP, while the more dyed-in-the wool section, who are also against the BJP, will either refrain from going to the polling stations on the polling day or press the NOTA button,” said a senior political observer.
