Foes in Kerala, friends outside – how contradictions in Congress-Left equation are playing out in state

The Left and the Congress are partners in the INDIA bloc – the rainbow coalition forged to fight the Lok Sabha elections against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – but locked in an intense contest in Kerala.

In his 19 March

, the sitting MP accused the CPI of contradicting itself by fielding Pannian Raveendran on the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency – Tharoor’s seat – after the Left questioned the messaging behind Rahul’s candidature in Wayanad, where his main rival is CPI leader Annie Raja.

The clash between the Congress and the Left has stirred both curiosity and disbelief among the national commentariat, who struggle to understand why these parties are fighting each other in Kerala while collaborating elsewhere. This underscores not only the loose nature of the INDIA bloc but also highlights the BJP’s struggle to establish a substantial presence in Kerala’s politics.

Now and again, Prime Minister Modi invokes the “Dilli mein dosti, Kerala mein Kushti” (friends in Delhi, foes in Kerala) jibe against the Left and the Congress. But, his multiple visits to the state may not guarantee the ‘blooming of the lotus’ in Kerala yet. Jibes aside, there is nothing ‘friendly’ about the Congress-Left contests. Things can get bitter, with all kinds of propaganda unleashed in the run-up to the polls.

Asked about the strange phenomenon of the INDIA bloc allies contesting against each other in Kerala, S. Ramachandran Pillai, former Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), told ThePrint that the alliance is a state-by-state arrangement. A. Sampath, former CPI(M) MP from Attingal, added, “Even in 1977 and 1989, such rainbow coalitions were not perfect ones.”

Veteran Congress leader and former minister K.C. Joseph concurred, saying, “There is no question of the Left and the Congress coming to any arrangement in Kerala. That would only mean giving an opening to the BJP in the state.”

What he said makes political sense as the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka benefitted the BJP in the Old Mysuru region bordering Kerala.

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Rahul Gandhi’s contest in Wayanad

Having complained about Rahul Gandhi’s candidacy from Wayanad in 2019, the Left parties are once again raking up the issue, which, critics say, is a strategy to gain sympathy, if not anything else. The question being asked is – “even if Gandhi had to contest on a ‘safe seat’, why did he not in another southern state?”

Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) state secretary Shibu Baby John, however, said, “It could, similarly, be argued that Annie Raja works out of Delhi and not Kerala, and one could ask why she is being fielded here rather than in the national capital?”

The RSP is with the Left Front in West Bengal and Tripura but with the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.

Annie Raja, wife of CPI general secretary D. Raja, is the CPI candidate from Wayanad. As a member of the CPI national executive, she is a prominent face in Delhi political circles.

CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam told ThePrint, “I have great regard for Rahul Gandhi, and I, personally, like him. But the short-sighted Congress leaders in Kerala compelled him to contest from here.”

K.C. Joseph, however, defended the decision, saying, “Wayanad is Rahul Gandhi’s sitting seat. This is a silly debate.”

Many leaders pointed out that the arrangement between the Congress and the Left to contest against each other in Kerala but ally outside does not confuse the state electorate, who are mature enough to distinguish between the state and national elections.

G. Devarajan, general secretary of the Forward Bloc, highlighted an arrangement in 2004 when the Left supported the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) from outside.

“It was during this phase that the LDF (Left Democratic Front) won a decisive mandate in the 2006 assembly election, which shows how the people of Kerala are mature enough to distinguish between national and state elections,” Devarajan told ThePrint from Kolkata.

“In any case, whether it is the LDF or the UDF candidate winning, it will have the same effect in Delhi regardless,” he added.

Like the RSP, the Forward Bloc is also part of the UDF in Kerala while being a Left Front ally in Bengal and Tripura.

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‘BJP bogey’ in Kerala politics

In Alappuzha, where All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal is taking on the lone sitting CPI(M) Kerala Lok Sabha MP A.M. Ariff, the Left has resorted to the “BJP bogey” to make its case with the voters.

The Left’s argument pivots on the remaining two-year term of Venugopal in the Rajya Sabha and the prospect of the BJP claiming it whenever the seat becomes vacant in case Venugopal were to win from Alappuzha.

K.C. Joseph rubbished this argument. “The Lok Sabha election precedes what happens in the Rajya Sabha, and we want to win as many seats as possible for the headcount. And Venugopal is a two-time former MP from Alappuzha,” he said.

Venugopal represented Alappuzha twice from 2009 to 2019.

One of the major charges levelled by the Left against the Congress in Kerala is its less-than-strident positions on matters concerning the Muslim community. The CPI(M) never fails to accuse the Congress of adopting a “soft-Hindutva” stance on issues such as Ayodhya or the abrogation of Article 370, especially outside Kerala.

Now, the Congress is hitting back at the CPI(M).

Vatakara Congress MP K. Muraleedharan has asked the Marxist party to come clean on the issue by raising the point that the Congress left the Sikar seat in Rajasthan for the CPI(M). “If we adopt soft Hindutva outside Kerala, why is the CPI(M) taking our support in Rajasthan?” Muraleedharan asked.

Amra Ram, CPI(M) state secretary in Rajasthan, will be the INDIA bloc candidate in the Sikar Lok Sabha constituency.

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Paradoxical messaging?

Travelling on the national highway to Kannur through Vadakara, one has to pass through Mayyazhi (Mahe), part of Puducherry, formerly a French colony. The Congress is contesting from Puducherry as part of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alliance, supported by the Left parties.

This may confuse people who pass the town and stop to top up on fuel. Petrol is cheaper in Mahe by Rs 14 compared to the rest of Kerala, and Mahe lies not too far away from Kannur. Locals, however, do not care that the Congress and the Left are allied in their area while also contesting against each other on other seats because they are now used to this paradoxical situation.

For travellers, confusion may also set in once they reach Coimbatore from Palakkad or take a trip to Kanyakumari from Thiruvananthapuram. In Tamil Nadu’s Madhura, on the campaign poster of CPI(M) sitting MP Su Venkatesan, both Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin loom large with their hands aloft.

On his part, Binoy Viswam told ThePrint that he does not find anything odd with such arrangements as the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, and even the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) are all part of the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu.

However, the Congress and the CPI (M) cadres in Kerala have no confusion about who their arch-enemy is. This is the case even for the IUML cadres who have no love lost for the Marxists.

Yousaf Mammali, a businessman in the Middle East, who doubles up as an IUML cadre during the elections, said, “The Congress and the IUML work in tandem in Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts against the CPI(M)’s strong-arm tactics, and the cadres don’t care about this arrangement elsewhere.”

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)

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