A thaw in the strained relations between the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] over the Deputy Leader of the Opposition post in the State Assembly was apparent on Sunday, with veteran CPI(M) leader A.K. Balan trying to soothe frayed nerves by stating that the two Left parties “are the heart and brain of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and will remain so”. 

Both parties have their individual stances on whether or not to follow precedents in some cases, which are communicated to their cadre and followers, he said, and mocked the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) for ostensibly believing they could fish in troubled waters. IUML national vice-president K.P.A. Majeed had on Saturday written an article in the party mouthpiece, Chandrika, eulogising the CPI and excoriating the CPI(M), which was widely seen as its invitation to the CPI to switch sides. 

The mood for reconciliation was visible in a piece written by CPI leader Rajaji Mathew Thomas in the party mouthpiece, Janayugam, on Sunday.  

Mr. Thomas, who is also the editor of the daily, defended the CPI’s decision to frankly discuss the matter of Deputy Leader of the Opposition with the media, arguing that the CPI only wanted collective leadership and responsibility for the alliance in the wake of the changing political landscape across the country and in Keralam.

Instead of addressing that issue, if the CPI(M) tries to score a few points by reminding the CPI of its support for the Emergency, it will only serve to worsen the relationship between the two parties, he said.

‘Food for thought’

Citing the CPI(M) Central Committee’s election review report, which made no bones about admitting that this was an unprecedented occasion after 1977 when the CPI(M) was not part of a State government anywhere in the country, Mr. Thomas said this was food for thought for the Left in general, not the CPI(M) alone.

“At a time when the BJP and the Sangh Parivar forces are gaining ground across the country and in Keralam, the CPI is of the view that the Left should try to have a collective leadership model rather than go merely by precedent,” he argued, hoping the extended State committee of the CPI(M) in September would find a way out of this imbroglio and give a leg-up for collective leadership. 

On Cong. relevance

Significantly, Mr. Thomas also acknowledged the increasing relevance of the Congress as the main Opposition party in the country with a secular, democratic outlook in fighting fascist forces, “regardless of that party’s perceived shortcomings“. He urged the CPI(M) to recall that its candidate got elected from Sikar in Rajasthan in the Lok Sabha polls with the support of the Congress.

Mr. Thomas reiterated the argument raised by other CPI leaders over the past few days that the CPI-led C. Achutha Menon government, in which the Congress and the IUML were partners, was the one that laid the foundation for a modern Keralam in science, technology and education. He wrote that Achutha Menon had regretted the Emergency, and that some Left governments that succeeded him had also sanctioned police excesses, referring to the encounter killings of Maoists in Nilambur during the tenure of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government.