Talks of Congress-CPI(M) official tie-up all but over

It is almost certain that Congress will not have any official alliance with the Left Front.

In the AICC meeting held in Delhi on Monday the matter did not come up for discussion. Congress heavyweights Pradip Bhattacharya and Abdul Mannan are waiting for the decision.

It was learnt that though the State Congress leaders have told the party’s Vice President Rahul Gandhi that an alliance with Left Front might help in ousting Trinamool Congress, party’s insiders said that chair-person Sonia Gandhi was not in favour of having formal electoral alliance with CPI(M). Also, she is against any official dais sharing with the Left. “She has not forgotten how the CPI(M) had criticised Rajiv Gandhi during Bofors issue and how senior CPI(M) leaders had behaved when they withdrew the support from the UPA government.” It was seen that senior party leaders like Gulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Sindhia were more inclined to talk to the Trinamool leaders than the CPI(M) ones regarding floor coordination in the Lok Sabha.

Senior party leaders said that Sonia Gandhi wanted the Left Front to come up with the proposal to Congress as “she believes that in case of any success or failure CPI(M) will try to either use Congress or blame it.”

Veteran State Congress leaders said that as Rahul Gandhi had been assigned to talk to leaders  in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal, some formula would be made to share seats with the Left Front.

Meanwhile, posters criticising Congress for proposing an electoral alliance with CPIM have been put up in North 24 Parganas on Monday. The posters said that “Some leaders with vested interest are trying to form alliance with CPI(M), the biggest enemy of the party.” The leaders of the area wondered how could the party form a tie up with CPI(M) who had tortured and killed hundreds of party workers in the past three decades. Such posters have been put up in Kolkata also. Those which were put up at Bidhan Bhavan, party’s state headquarters have been removed. 

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) is not also in a comfortable position as the partners including CPI and RSP leaders have made it clear that first the proposal should come from Congress and then the matter should be discussed in the Front. The SUCI has also expressed its unwillingness to have an alliance with the Congress.