In the late 1950s, B C Roy, the then-West Bengal chief minister, remarked that if the Left gains power, their true face will be revealed. The united CPI condemned him for effectively ending the Khadya Andolan in 1959. Seven decades later, the country is witnessing an unholy alliance between the Congress and Left Front in West Bengal and Tripura for the upcoming elections.
In Kerala, both are opposed to each other. To support the INDIA bloc, Congress and CPM joined up with other parties including Trinamool, RJD, AAP, Shiv Sena, NCP, JMM, and SP. They also have DMK as a partner. Adhir Chowdhury, President of the Pradesh Congress in West Bengal, opposed a Trinamool-Congress partnership. Instead, he formed an alliance with the Left Front. Previously, Congress and CPM faced off in Tripura. Following the BJP’s ouster of the Manik Sarkar-led Left Front government, the two opposition parties have formed a united front.
Are the ideas of Congress and the CPM the same?
Their manifestos are diametrically opposed, and it does not take much research to conclude that. Congress supports a bourgeois democratic system, while the Left promotes a socialist agenda.
They were inspired by Soviet Marxists and have consistently opposed the Congress since Independence. Since Rajiv Gandhi’s death in 1991, there has never been an outright majority for Congress. The Left imposed unwanted demands on Congress, which the latter did not want.
Congress had to comply with the Left Front’s directives to maintain government operations.
This was prevalent since 2004. The Left’s withdrawal of support for Manmohan Singh’s cabinet in 2008 highlighted the disparities between the two political parties across the country. Since the public disclosure of the Hawala and Narada scams in 2014, both parties in West Bengal joined forces to oppose the Trinamool-led government.
Despite this, Trinamool continued to gain public support in both national and assembly elections. In the 2019 elections, the BJP won 18 out of 42 Parliament seats, with a significant shift in Left Front vote share. The Left Front’s vote share was dropped to 7% from 27%. In the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections, both parties failed to obtain seats, leaving the BJP as the dominant opposition.
Why does the union between Congress and CPM not accurately reflect their ideologies?
The CPM labelled Rabindranath Tagore as a bourgeois poet, Swami Vivekananda as a nomad, and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose as a pet of Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. The Leftists’ celebration of Netaji’s birthday, Rabindra Jayanti, and alliance with the Congress is amusing.
One does not forget the vulgar vocabulary used to insult Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi earlier.
The Left’s Red Terror in West Bengal from the 1990s until 2010 remains a source of anxiety for many Bengalis. During the 80s and 90s, some West Bengal Congress officials indirectly supported the Left Front administration and attempted to undermine Mamata Banerjee’s insurrection. Mata Banerjee created the Trinamool Congress after leaving the Congress due to frustration. The partnership between Congress and the Left is unhealthy and untrustworthy. Initially, the Left tends to undermine Congress.
The Left’s strategy is to gain power before revealing its actual nature. To prevent the authoritarian NDA from gaining power, non-communal parties should unite. Trusting the Left entirely is a mistake for any other political party.
Before the Kerala parliament elections, both the Left and Congress have condemned each other. In other states, both parties are campaigning against the BJP, which creates a negative national image.
The Left understands that it will never have a national majority. In Tamil Nadu, both parties have formed a coalition with the DMK and are working well together to govern.
The Congress is the sole national alternative to BJP. If the INDIA alliance wins the current elections, it can build a powerful coalition government with the help of other regional parties. Except for West Bengal, Tripura, and Kerala, the Left Front has not had a strong representation in any other state. Congress, rather than CPM or other regional parties, plays a crucial role in preserving India’s Constitution.
ABHISHEK VERMA
Author: This news is edited by: Abhishek Verma, (Editor, CANON TIMES)
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