This refers to the editorial, “Fraternal fratricide” (Jnauary 23). The Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s ‘tactical’ decision to do without an electoral tie-up with the Congress was not something expected of a pre-eminently secular party in the present political situation. It represented a setback in the collective efforts needed to be made by all Opposition parties to achieve the object of unseating the BJP from power. Despite its assessment that the BJP epitomizes ‘communal fascism’ and tries to create an ‘authoritarian state’, it was unfortunate that the CPI(M) did not make ‘the lesser of two evils’ the right choice to align with. Clearly, the decision, to keep equi-distance from the BJP and the Congress, was not a tactical master-stroke, but a historical blunder.
The party line nixing the plan mooted by none other than party general secretary Sitaram Yechury himself for an electoral alliance or understanding with the Congress, needless to say, will weaken Opposition unity and work to the BJP’s advantage. As a senior left leader put it hyperbolically, ‘in a sense, Karat’s win is Modi’s win’. Admittedly, the CPI (M) is not strong enough to play a decisive role in national politics, but it is still capable of mobilising secular forces in the political battle against communal forces, given its unflinching commitment to secularism. The principal left party should understand that it is a national party to give the reasoning that it is the Congress and not the BJP that it has to take on as its adversary in its few strongholds, especially Kerala. As a ‘progressive’ and ‘revolutionary’ party, it should also eschew religious and caste considerations while shaping party policies and forging electoral alliances.