Notwithstanding silence from the Congress high command over the proposed electoral alliance, the demand of some veteran CPI(M) politburo members from Kerala and Tripura to drop the idea of having a tie-up have put the state committee leaders in a tight spot.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar felt that this would tarnish the party’s image and run the risk of being described as opportunistic. It could affect the party’s poll prospects in Kerala adversely. Also, it would flout the party line taken at Visakhapatnam on maintaining equidistance from the Congress and BJP. Sarkar said the alliance would affect party’s poll prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
This has certainly embarrassed the state leaders. The state committee will sit together to take a decision on February 12 and 13. The central committee will meet on February 17 and 18 to take a final decision. The state committee leaders have realised that with Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala having more members, it will be difficult to push through the proposal to form an alliance.
Majority of the state committee leaders spoke unequivocally in favour of the alliance. Interestingly, former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee who had once said that if they “ask the Congress to stand, it will stand and whenever we ask it to sit, it will sit,” spoke in favour of the alliance with the Congress. It may be recalled that while flagging off the rally from Singur to Salboni, Bhattachrjee had strongly argued in favour of the alliance.
In a desperate move, the state committee leaders have proposed that without naming the Congress, they would say that the alliance would be made with secular forces just to woo party rank and file.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has decided to play the speeches of Congress and CPI(M) leaders trading charges against each other at election rallies in Kerala – where the CPI(M) is fighting against the Congress – to expose the CPI(M)’s opportunism.“We will expose CPI(M) and will show people how opportunistic the party is. The CPI(M) think that they will use the Congress like the Janata Dal in 1977 and capture power. The alliance will ruin both the parties,” a Trinamool leader said.