Bengal CPM reciprocating Rahul’s gesture in Kerala?

The West Bengal leadership of CPM, in an apparent reciprocation of Rahul Gandhi’s gesture of not attacking the party during his campaign in Kerala, has decided to focus their attack on Trinamool Congress (TMC) and BJP in Bengal and not on the Congress.

The development comes at a time when the seat sharing discussions between the Left Front and Congress have collapsed and yet the two sides have decided not to field candidates against each other in four seats. While Congress has not fielded any candidates in Jadavpur and Bankura Lok Sabha seats, the CPM has decided not to contest the Congress bastions of Malda South and Berhampore.

CPM sources revealed that the state leadership has conveyed to the central leaders that they will not attack Congress during campaign in Bengal. “The message has also been conveyed to the Congress High Command,” a senior CPM state committee member told DH.

The fact that the two parties want to implement the decision at the ground level becomes evident with CPM workers actively campaigning for Congress candidate Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency. According to CPIM sources the state leadership has also conveyed to Congress that, if needed, they will instruct their cadres to help Congress workers in campaigning in Berhampore and Malda South constituencies.

CPM angers ally

CPM has extended support to Congress in Berhampore even at the risk of antagonising its key Left Front ally Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), which has fielded a candidate from the constituency.

The decision of the CPM leadership in Bengal is in stark contrast to their counterparts in Kerala, who made it clear that they will not concede any ground to the Congress president in Wayanad constituency. Soon after filing his nomination for Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi announced that he will not speak against the CPM in Kerala. The Kerala unit of CPM, however, feels that Gandhi’s decision to contest from Kerala will weaken their fight against BJP at the national level.

However, a senior CPM leader from Bengal argued that there is a significant difference between the political situation in Bengal and Kerala and unlike the southern state, Congress is not their key rival in Bengal.