The internecine war in the CPI(M) over a possible alliance with the Congress has been set to rest by the Tamil Nadu unit of the party. G Ramakrishnan, Polit Bureau member and secretary of the State CPI(M) made it clear that Tamil Nadu would see an alliance between his party and the Congress.
In an exclusive interview given to a pro-CPI(M) daily published from Chennai, Ramakrishnan said that alliance for the 2019 lok Sabha election would vary from State to State.
He said a final decision on the electoral alliance would be taken in the triennial Party Congress to be held at Hyderabad in the month of April. “But one thing is clear; there will be no uniform alliance throughout the country and it will differ from State to State. We should also keep in mind that the regional parties have no alternative economic policies and they simply toe the policies pursued by the Congress and the BJP,” said Ramakrishnan.
The CPI(M) was in the news recently when the party rejected the draft proposal prepared by the all India general secretary Sitaram Yechury which suggested an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming 2019 lok Sabha election. But the faction headed by former party general secretary Prakash Karat rejected the proposal in what was seen as a set back for the Yechury faction in the party. The Kerala unit of the CPI(M), which is having a major saying in the party was also against the alliance with the Congress, which is its main rival in the State.
“There is nothing surprising in the statement by Ramakrishnan because the Congress and the CPI(M) were in alliance in Tamil Nadu since 1999. It will continue without any hitch. Situation in Kerala is different from that of Tamil Nadu,” said N Kalyanasundaram, Tamil Nadu’s political historian and commentator.
Ramakrishnan gave enough hints of an alliance with the DMK while he totally rejected any kind of ties with the ruling AIADMK. “It is the worst Government the State has ever seen. Corruption is all pervasive,” said the CPI(M) leader.