India News Online » News Analysis » Indian Politics » 

Left steps up momentum for Third Alternative : Not averse to joining the next government at the Cen

	March 31, 2008

The conclaves of the two main Communist parties, the CPI(M) and the CPI, held in South India, apart from raising the pitch for a third alternative, have indicated a significant shift in the Left line on joining a government at the Centre. Indications are that the Left may not be averse to joining a Government at the Centre formed by a third alternative, and even heading such a government.





CPI(M) meet begins with third front cry



The crucial CPI-M national congress, which will have a bearing on the stability of the UPA government and the timing of the next general elections, began in Coimbatore on Saturday, March 29, with an assertion by party’s general secretary Prakash Karat to continue the struggle “to disentangle India from the strategic embrace of the US” and a stress on the need for a third alternative.



Coming down heavily on both the Congress and the BJP, Karat said: “The need for a third alternative is being felt all the more. This should be based on an alternative platform of policies. It cannot be merely an electoral alliance.”



Without naming the parties which could be part of the third alternative, he said: “There are democratic and secular parties which can agree with the Left on pro-people economic policies, on social justice measures and an independent foreign policy.”



Setting the tone for the deliberations of the 19th party congress, Karat said the defence framework agreement and the nuclear co-operation agreement with the US were “parts of an overeaching alliance”. “The CPI(M) and the Left had already declared that the nuclear deal cannot go forward,” he declared.



Launching a scathing attack on the UPA government, he said it had failed to address two major problems ~ the agrarian crisis and the price rise of essential commodities. “We are all the more convinced that the nature and trajectory of growth is wrong. We do not want the spectacle of the ranks of the dollar billionaires growing in our country amidst suicides by farmers, unemployment and reduced per capita consumption of foodgrains,” he said.



Outlining the agenda of the party congress, Karat said it would work out appropriate tactics to “isolate the BJP and to prevent any opportunistic line up of parties around it for electoral gains”.



Echoing similar sentiments, CPI general secretary AB Bardhan said the Indo-US nuclear deal was an attempt to cap the strategic partnership with the US. The repeated pressure on our government by a series of US high officials, showed that the US hoped to derive the greatest benefits - diplomatic, political, strategic, apart from business interests. The policies of economic reforms had sharply aggravated disparities among people, he added.



Veteran leaders Harkishen Singh Surjeet and Jyoti Basu did not attend the meet.





—————————Box——————



DMK greetings



In a significant gesture, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and key ally of the Congress, M. Karunanidhi, whose party always find a place in the CPI(M) list of “democratic and secular parties” greeted the party’s congress in Coimbatore where Karat stressed the need for a third front. The congress recently announced that its electoral alliance with the DMK would hold good for the next Lok Sabha polls.



—————————Box ends——————





Prospects of a third front



Analysts recall that the third front suggested in 1996, when the general elections led to the rout of the Congress and no party was in a position to form a government on its own, that then West Bengal Chief Minister and CPI(M) veteran Jyoti Basu should head the United Front Government as Prime Minister, the CPI(M) central committee rejected the offer by eight votes after a fierce debate. Jyoti Basu later described the party’s decision not to take up the post of Prime Minister as a “historical blunder.”



The 2005 CPI(M)’s congress reiterated the party position saying that “it is not possible to have a united front or alliance with the Congress.” This is what led to the CPI(M) deciding on not joining the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre in 2004, but supporting it from outside.



The CPI, however, adopted a different approach to the issue and nominated its veteran leader Indrajit Gupta, to assume office as Union Home Minister in the H.D. Deve Gowda and Gujral governments.





——————————Box————————-





Significant pointers about shifting position on joining the Govt.



The draft political resolution for the Coimbatore party congress refers in detail to wooing regional parties to form what it calls a Left and democratic alternative. The resolution is, however, silent about the situation that might arise after the Lok Sabha polls and whether this time, given the opportunity, the CPI(M) will be part of the Government at the Centre.



Sources say that a large section of party delegates from states like West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, where the CPI(M) is in power, is likely to vote in favour of the party joining the Central Government and taking advantage of the situation.



Observers recall that some dilution of the party’s stand on the issue has already taken place with veteran parliamentarian Somnath Chatterjee being allowed to don the mantle of Lok Sabha Speaker. The Congress in 2004 had wanted the Left parties to join the UPA and be part of the Government, but the CPI(M) had turned down the proposal.



West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in remarks before the Coimbatore congress, indicated that the Left will not shy away from leading the third alternative. Speaking at a public rally on March 27, he said, “We are working to form a third alternative, which will be led by the Left parties.” He indicated that the CPI(M) was gearing up to mobilise itself as a strong anti-Congress political force. “We were compelled to support the Congress to prevent the BJP from coming to power,” but he said: “The Congress has not learnt its lessons from the past. It continues to commit the same mistake., It failed to fulfil our expectations. The public distribution system has collapsed. Prices are soaring but the UPA Government is not bothered.”



———————————Box ends————————





CPI for aligning with regional parties



The formation of a third alternative, non-Congress and non-BJP, dominated the five-day CPI congress held in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) from March 23 to March 27.



Speaking at a meet-the-press programme in Hyderabad on March 28, CPI General Secretary A.B. Bardhan, who was re-elected to the position for the fourth time, said his party was ready to join hands with regional parties in the next general election.



Bardhan said while the ultimate goal of his party was to build a third alternative to both the Congress and the BJP on the basis of Left and democratic programmes, it was not likely to be formed before the next poll.



“We don’t believe it will come into effect so early,” he said in reply to a question.



“In the coming elections we will try to have State-specific adjustments to ensure defeat of communal forces,” Bardhan said, adding that the CPI along with other secular parties would prevent the BJP from coming to power at Centre and in the States



He said the third alternative would be evolved through common struggle with other secular and democratic parties on people’s issues. “It will not be a mere conglomeration of few political parties,” he said and hinted at the possibility of a joint struggle with the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), a grouping of regional parties, on the price rise.



Bardhan voiced concern over the price rise affecting poor and the middle-class people. He announced that the CPI would launch a massive “militant” movement against the price rise on April 17 and 18.



He said the CPI also planned a nation-wide agitation for the distribution of land among the landless on the lines of “bhooporatam” or land struggle launched in Andhra Pradesh and on the problems faced by farmers.



While deciding to continue its opposition to the India-US nuclear deal, the CPI leader said that an India-specific agreement with the IAEA was not sufficient to operationalise the deal.



“Going to IAEA and signing India-specific safeguard agreement is only one of the steps required to operationalise the agreement. This step alone will not operationalise unless three other steps are taken,” he said while trying to play down differences among the left parties over the IAEA agreement.



Bardhan said his party received the draft IAEA agreement on March 17. “We will be meeting in April to discuss it. It will take four to five months to read and understand it,” he said.



On Tibet, Bardhan said it was part of China. “Tibet is an internal affair of China. If somebody wants dialogue, it should be held but nobody can interfere in China’s internal affairs.”



“The Dalai Lama is a political refugee in India but he is using Indian territory to meet US leaders to denounce China,” he said.





Left unity crucial



At the opening of the 20th national congress of the CPI, top leaders of the CPI and the CPI(M) said on March 23 that strengthening and consolidation of Left unity is a crucial element in moving towards a Left and democratic third alternative in the country. Bardhan and Prakash Karat, addressing the inaugural session, said the united approach of the CPI(M) and the CPI had stalled some of what they called “the most harmful measures of the UPA Government.”



Karat and Bardhan reiterated their determination to “do nothing that will weaken the Left unity.” While admitting that there were some minor differences between them, they felt it was not abnormal to them on certain issues.



Both the Communist leaders reiterated their resolve to stall the BJP and its allies from coming back to power at the Centre. They recalled how the BJP was utilising all the “failings” of the UPA government in its efforts to return to power. This called for redoubling of efforts to fight the Hindutva forces politically and ideologically.



Bardhan said though the policies and actions of the Left generated support from large sections, the parties were “equally conscious of their weakness in a large part of the country.” “It is on the bedrock of Left unity that our future advance will take place. Left initiative is required for creating and presenting a third alternative before the people,” Karat said.



Apart from Bardhan and Karat, All India Forward Block general secretary Debabrata Biswas and Revolutionary Socialist Party general secretary T.J. Chandrachudan were present at the event. Representatives from 28 countries across five continents and over 500 delegates from India attended the meet.





Deputy General Secretary’s position revived



Apart from re-electing A.B. Bardhan as general secretary for the fourth consecutive term, the CPI revived the Deputy General Secretary’s post after a gap of nine years. S. Sudhakar Reddy, Member of Parliament from Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh was appointed deputy General Secretary. Observers say that this indicates the line of succession and paves the way for anointing Sudhakar Reddy as 82-year-old Bardhan’s successor.



A new national council with 125 full members including 30 new faces was also elected at the party congress.





The new council has elected a 31-member national executive, which will have five new members - Aziz Pasha, C. Divakaran, N.A. Raja, P. Sengupta, and Dr. Kango. The party congress also elected a nine-member secretariat comprising Bardhan, Sudhakar Reddy, D. Raja, Gurudas Dasgupta, Nandagopal Bhattacharya, C.K. Chandrapan, Shameem Raizi, Atul Kumar Anjan and Amarjeet Kaur, the lone woman member in the secretariat.



Soon after his election as Deputy General Secretary, Reddy said the party would wait for the outcome of the CPI(M) congress and chalk out its political strategy vis-a-vis the UPA government in consultation with other Left parties. He said the party has taken a serious note of the economic policies being adopted by the UPA government, the price rise and the Indo-US tilt.





Building bridges : UNPA convener hosts breakfast for CPI leaders



In an effort to build bridges with the Left parties, Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu organised a breakfast for CPI leaders including party general secretary A.B. Bardhan in Hyderabad on March 26. Naidu is also convener of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), a combination of regional parties.



Replying to questions from reporters later, Bardhan said the CPI is willing to work jointly with the UNPA to fight for people’s issues such as price rise. Though a party spokesperson described the breakfast meeting as a non-political meeting of friends, political circles view the event as significant in view of the fact that the CPI congress has given a call for building a Left and democratic alternative to both the Congress and the BJP.



Recalling that Naidu was an ally of the Left in the past, Bardhan said “We worked together for several years in the United Front and subsequently also.”



Naidu told reporters that political issues were not discussed at the breakfast meeting. When asked about a possible electoral alliance with the CPI, he said, “Let the elections come, we will discuss the issue then.”



Interestingly, CPI leaders also attended a dinner hosted by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajshekhara Reddy. The CPI spokesperson said it was hosted in honour of the fraternal delegates from other countries and a few CPI leaders also attended it.





Mulayam Singh re-elected party president



Mulayam Singh Yadav was re-elected unopposed as Samajwadi Party president for another term at the party’s national executive meeting held in Jabalpur on Wednesday, March 26.



Addressing the executive after his re-election, Yadav was highly critical of the foreign policy being pursued by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre. He said it was deviating from the time-tested policy that had given the country a non-aligned status and established its leadership among the comity of nations.



Yadav said it was due to the pressure of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) that the Centre had been forced to address the farmers’ crisis. In the same context, however, he went on to point out that the farmers’ loan waiver to the tune of over Rs. 60,000 crore announced by the UPA government would benefit the banks and not the farmers.







Left parties attack Chidambaram’s “neo-liberal” economic agenda



Left parties have reacted angrily to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s remark that “some 60 members of Parliament” were trying to hinder India’s economic progress. The CPI(M) hit back on March 23 saying Chidambaram’s neo-liberal economic agenda has intensified inequalities.



“The Finance Minister should work more closely on the lines of the Common Minimum Programme than... his own economic agenda,” CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat told news channel Times Now.



Chidambaram had said in Madurai on Saturday that “some 60 members of Parliament” criticised everything being done by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and him to improve the economy and argued that those who claim that growth only helped the rich are the “worst enemies of the poor.”



“The pattern of growth in the neo-liberal framework promoted by Chidambaram and some of his colleagues has clearly intensified inequalities in India,” Ms. Karat, who is also a Rajya Sabha member alleged.



Echoing the same sentiments, senior party Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said that growth must accrue to the vast majority of India’s population who somehow seem to be excluded from the growth process,” he said.





Observers say Chidambaram’s remarks show that the Congress cannot be a natural ally of the Left on economic policies. Speaking in Madurai, Chidambaram said: “What do they want to do ? Do they only want us to distribute poverty in the country ? Those who say the market growth is irrelevant and those who say that growth only helps the rich are the worst enemies of the poor. The Finance Minister went on to explain that poverty can only be wiped out if the current growth rate is sustained. “They say the economic growth is irrelevant and only a small group of people had benefited from it”, but “if we continue to grow close to 9 per cent by 2020 India’s per capita income will be $2000 and by 2030 it will be $ 16,000.



Chidambaram said the UPA Government was able to implement many development programmes for people only because of the high growth rate. “If we continue to grow at this rate, India will be among the most prosperous countries in the world”, he said.