New Delhi, July 12: Marxist historian Irfan Habib and his academic wife Sayera Habib, both of whom have been CPM members for over 60 years, have written to the politburo urging it to form a "united front" that would include the Congress, wherever possible, to fight the BJP.

The letter has caused much consternation in the party, already in a bind over the Bengal unit's defiance of the party line and demand that the understanding with the Congress be allowed to continue.

The couple's letter says "this government at the Centre is not just another parliamentary government of a bourgeois party" and urges the CPM leadership to reconsider the tactical line to fight the BJP and not follow a "sectarian" anti-Congress stance.

"The primary objective of our party should, therefore, surely be to isolate the BJP as far as possible, and form a broad united front with all other democratic forces so as to foil the BJP's plan of gaining control over the states still outside its orbit, and finally, to secure its defeat in the parliamentary elections due in 2019," the letter states.

"The central committee and the politburo should consider seriously the issue of the tactical line and not just invoke the technicality of the decision taken at the last party congress for following a policy which has neither reason nor experience to justify it," the letter says, adding that the "Lohia-like 'anti-Congressism' will not serve us very much". The Habibs were referring to Ram Manohar Lohia, the freedom fighter.

The Habibs have analysed in detail the CPM's tactics in recent elections to buttress their argument and hailed the Bengal unit's move to align with the Congress.

The Bengal defeat would have been more severe had the party not opted for the tie-up, the letter says. It suggests the CPM work out a common programme with the Congress.

"In West Bengal, had we failed to work out an accommodation with the Congress, our defeat would have been much severer.... Our fault was surely that we did not work out in time a common programme with the Congress to present before the people of West Bengal a real alternative to the Trinamul regime," the Habibs have written.

Contacted over phone, Irfan Habib, 84, professor emeritus in Aligarh Muslim University's history department, said he and his wife had written to the CPM in their capacity as party members.

"There is a provision in the CPM constitution that party members can give their views to the leadership. Me and my wife are very old party members and have given our views for consideration by the PB (politburo) and the CC (central committee)," he told The Telegraph.

Sayera and Irfan Habib have been with the party long before the CPI split in 1964, leading to the formation of the CPM.

Irfan Habib said the party had acknowledged the receipt of the letter, dated June 26, but he was yet to get a reply.

He termed the Left Democratic Front's victory in Kerala a "bright star" but slammed the party leadership for equating the BJP and the Congress by seeing them as "principal opponents". Irfan Habib called the stand "unfortunate" and urged the CPM to build a movement against the RSS in Kerala by including all secular politicians.

"We must not allow legitimate electoral considerations in Kerala to bar cooperation with the UDF components and the others in the struggle against the BJP and the RSS," the couple have written.

The letter criticises the CPM's electoral strategy in Assam. "The CC's statement that the party asked voters 'to oust the Congress from power' in Assam is rather disquieting, since it should have been foreseen that the result would be to bring the BJP to power there, as the Left by itself was in no position to even win a single seat, let alone offer an alternative to the Congress."

Sayera and Irfan Habib have underlined that the party would not be able to expand without a tactical line which would appeal to the largest possible sections. "A sectarian approach towards other secular mainstream parties is not going to win us much ground among ordinary people," the letter points out.

"We hope that as party members for more than 60 years our views would receive due consideration from the PB and the CC," the two-page letter points out.