Calcutta, Nov. 5: CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today said he was open to a debate on a tactical understanding with the Congress, according to sources.
The sources cautioned that the observation should not be seen as an endorsement of an alliance but added that the significance lay in Karat’s reluctance to reject outright the possibility of an understanding with a party with which he had a bitter a break-up in 2008.
“We have no fixations on whether to have tacit understanding with the Congress or any bourgeoisie parties,” the CPM general secretary was quoted as saying at today’s state committee meeting in Calcutta.
The tentative path is fraught with several imponderables — one of which was articulated today itself. A section of the Bengal unit, led by the Burdwan district secretary Amal Halder, questioned whether holding hands with the Congress would help the CPM.
Halder, known for his anti-Congress position, also blamed the leadership for a perceived “policy paralysis”.
The jury is out on what a debilitated Congress can bring to the table in the event of an alliance or unofficial understanding. The party will also have to keep in mind the impact in Kerala, where the CPM is in a much better shape than in Bengal and is pitted in a direct fight with the Congress.
But the general impression is that the CPM cannot do any worse in Bengal and it is in no position to turn its back on help from any quarters as the BJP makes inroads in Bengal and seeks to replace the Left as the principal Opposition force.
Karat had earlier endorsed different political lines — ranging from forging an alliance with non-Congress and non-BJP parties for a third front to pursuing a line of broader Left unity — that failed to deliver results. In the interlude, the CPM plunged from being the third largest party in the country to a position of insignificance.
Today, Karat came across as more accommodative on the Congress question. “The matter is open to debate and I have no problem with that. Let members of the central committee engage in a free and fair discussion on whom to align with or not. They can come up with any suggestion on the party’s political-tactical line,’’ he was quoted as saying at the meeting.
