The Communist Party of India (CPI) refused to declare openly on Wednesday whether it would welcome the Jose. K. Mani faction of the Kerala Congress (M) into the Left Democratic Front (LDF) fold.
CPI State secretary Kanam Rajendran, who chaired a crucial meeting of the party’s State executive here, said an announcement about the future of Mr. Mani on the eve of the LDF conclave would be extremely untimely.
“The CPI has not welcomed Mr. Mani outright. It has attempted to weigh the changes Mr. Mani’s shift in allegiance to the LDF has brought about on the political field. The CPI would state its case at the LDF meeting on Thursday. The party has a positive approach to all issues. It would not let go of an opportunity to weaken the opposition UDF,” Mr. Rajendran added.
Mani untested
Mr. Rajendran said the CPI was under no impression that Mr. Mani’s possible inclusion in the front would “abruptly reverse the course of the Meenachal river.” Mr. Mani’s purported strength in Central Travancore remained untested in the changed situation.
Local body polls
The CPI was singularly focussed on steering the LDF to victory in the local body elections in December. Assembly polls would come only later. He refused to state whether Mr. Mani’s likely inclusion in the LDF was subject to any timetable.
The CPI felt that Mr. Mani’s abandonment of the UDF had weakened the Opposition considerably. The party saw no rationale for opposing Mr. Mani.
The Kerala Congress (M) leader has declared his support for the pro-farmer policies of the LDF. He has unconditionally accepted the LDF’s political programme, Mr. Rajendran said.
The CPI has always balanced its ideological moorings with the practicalities of realpolitik. It has done so without compromising its values, he said.
Flays Congress
The Congress has abandoned its secular position and lurched to the right. It has aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party to discredit the government, Mr. Rajendran said.
At the same time, the Congress has opened secret parleys with the Welfare Party of India and Jamaat-e-Islami to disadvantage the LDF in the election year.
Mr. Mani’s desertion of the UDF has offered the LDF an opportunity for undermining the cabal, he added.