The North East Assembly election results is expected to lead to a further confrontation between the Congress and the Communist Party of India (M) [CPI(M)] in Kerala, since the two parties still perceive each other as the main enemy in the State.
At present, the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) is on the offensive against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule, with a distinct anti-CPI(M) tilt. Senior Congress leaders in the State have never lost the opportunity to talk about the imperativeness of an electoral understanding between the Congress and the CPI(M) at the national level to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but the ground level matters have been quite different.
The murder of Youth Congress functionary S.P. Shuhaib allegedly by some local CPI(M) workers have given the Congress-CPI(M) confrontation a new twist. The UDF, led by the Congress, stalled the proceedings of the State Assembly on consecutive days, expressing a lack of confidence in the current investigation by the State police and demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The opposition coalition has also launched a series of agitations such as day-night hunger strike, in its bid to corner the LDF government on the issue of political murders.
The CPI(M) State leadership has already positioned itself against an alliance or understanding with the Congress, though the party's final stand would be out only at the end of the party congress next month. Significantly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took a rather confrontationist position in the Assembly, refusing to agree to a CBI probe. The murders of Safeer, an IUML worker at Mannarkad, and Madhu, a tribal youth, who was lynched to death in Attappady also gave the UDF a handle to focus on the inefficiency of the police under Mr. Vijayan.
The CPI(M)'s anti-Congress moves has extended to wooing the Kerala Congress (M), which quit the UDF and is currently pursuing a policy of ‘‘equidistance,’’ besides allowing entry to the Janata Dal led by M.P. Veerendrakumar, whose decision to quit the UDF did catch the Congress leadership unwares. The CPI(M) has also been cosying up to the Christian denominations in Central Travancore, which, the Congress party reckons as its main support base. In the 2014 Lok Sabha and the 2016 Assembly elections, the LDF succeeded in making inroads here. It had also made breakthrough in some Muslim pockets in 2016 Assembly elections.
There have been several instances which indicate that the LDF government has tried to leverage its rule to woo the various Christian denominations ranging from the approach towards the eviction of Munnar encroachers to the issue of title-deeds. This trend in appealing to minority communities is likely to sharpen the confrontation between the Congress and the CPI(M) in the coming days. The Assembly session, which will resume from Monday, will continue to reflect these differences.
