(From left) M.A. Baby and A.K. Antony — rivals in Kerala — with Priya Ranjan Das Munshi and Sonia Gandhi at the launch of the TV channel in Delhi. (PTI)

New Delhi, Aug. 17: Sonia Gandhi and M.A. Baby did not allow the shadow of AKG Bhavan and Ajoy Bhavan to fall on Siri Fort today.

As the fate of the Manmohan Singh government was debated some 10km away by the CPM’s politburo and the CPI’s central secretariat in their respective fortresses, the capital’s largest auditorium saw the Congress and the Left engage in a bit of banter.

The subject was politics. But for Sonia and Baby, Prakash Karat and A.B. Bardhan’s threats seemed non-existent.

Baby and, to an extent, Sonia looked at the micro picture: Kerala, the intra-party rivalries and how these were played out on TV. But everybody agreed that TV news should be “professional and objective”.

If someone wanted a lesson in objectivity, Baby was an example. Kerala’s education minister and CPM’s central committee member came from Thiruvanathapuram not for a party meeting but to watch Sonia launch the Congress’s first TV channel in Malayalam, Jai Hind. This is supposed to be a counter to the CPM-backed channel, Kairali.

As Baby spoke, he darted gentle barbs not at any Congress leader but his chief minister, V.S. Achuthanandan. Baby is supposed to be close to Achuthanandan’s rival and the state CPM secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan.

Kairali is a point of contention between Vijayan and Achuthanandan. The chief minister was reportedly upset with the channel for some uncomplimentary references and complained to central leaders.

So when Oommen Chandy, the Congress’s former chief minister — also on the dais — complimented Kairali for being the only medium to give him a fair deal for the one year he was in power, Baby returned the favour. “I only hope the Kerala chief minister will say the same of Jai Hind.”

Sonia told her Kerala leaders that Baby would ensure the channel would succeed. “You have the support of senior minister Baby,” she said.

But beneath the camaraderie was the recognition that the Congress and the CPM had hard political battles to fight in Kerala.

“We are here to stand together and defend secularism. But we must also struggle and take a strong stand against imperialism,” said Baby.

“If we can sustain this kind of interest and enthusiasm in our party organisation, I am confident we will be successful in Kerala again,” said Sonia.