Contrary to UDF’s assertions, the fight is between the LDF and UDF in Palakkad by-election, says CPM central committee member A K Balan. In a chat with Anil S and K S Sreejith, Balan predicts a historical win for the Left, and says the BJP will be pushed to a dismal third position. Alleging a UDF - BJP deal, Balan says Congress leader K Muraleedharan was very much in the know about it.
How do you asses the Left’s possibilities in Palakkad?
The LDF will record a historical win. Currently we are in third position with BJP second and UDF in first position. Going by the last assembly election, Congress polled 38%, BJP got 32 and LDF garnered 26%. Last time the BJP had a sudden jump with 10% increase in vote share. It was due to E Sreedharan. LDF’s core votes have not been affected.
Usually we get some additional votes from secular voters. But because of BJP’s presence, it went to the UDF. Yet, the UDF vote share hasn’t increased. Shafi’s majority went down from 18,500 to 3,500 votes. What does it mean? A major chunk of UDF votes went to BJP. This time around, the BJP won’t gain the same votes. There are internal issues in the BJP. Naturally BJP’s vote share will come down. But the Congress won’t benefit from this as Rahul won’t get the votes that even Shafi couldn’t win.
Ex-Congress leader Sarin is the Left candidate. What made the LDF choose him?
It’s a serious allegation that only those who are close to the leader of Opposition can survive in Congress. It’s not new. Even Ramesh Chennithala had indicated this. Organisationally, they have taken an underhand path. True Congressmen won’t be able to accept it. A well-qualified intellectual like Sarin chose to join the Congress as he wants to be in public service. After joining, he couldn’t accept the party’s approach on various issues.
When did the CPM realise that these issues in Congress could favour the Left?
In fact, he was not very keen on contesting. In normal course, it’s supposed to be a strong UDF seat. We are not against any candidate coming from outside. But why does someone come from outside? So, it means there’s a deal. That’s why many are not keen to contest. They know that there’s a move to favour the BJP and defeat the Congress. Why was a sitting MLA taken to Vadakara? Why was the sitting MP moved to an unsure seat? Even K Muraleedharan thought so - why was he sent to a losing seat? Why a bypoll in a risky seat? So there has to be a deal. Despite this being a seat with winning possibilities, why was someone brought from outside? If he’s that good, we can understand. Is he better than V T Balram?
A similar argument can be raised against Sarin too. The CPM chose to field an individual who switched sides just the previous day.
When someone with this quality comes to LDF, why shouldn’t we accept? You want a party with 26% votes to lose? As far as we are concerned, we will explore all possibilities. He used to criticise Pinarayi Vijayan, and has admitted that it was part of a conspiracy. Such an admission is sure to convince the public.
How will you convince Left sympathisers?
Not an issue at all. They feel it was the right decision. There’s no difference of opinion among either the cadres or sympathisers. They will understand the politics behind it.
Isn’t this an opportunistic approach?
This is not the first time such politics is being played. K Karunakaran’s DIC stood with us in 2004. How did the second Pinarayi government come to power? Not just due to its mass support. Kerala Congress came to its side. The CPM will use all democratically feasible strategies. As far as Sarin is concerned, he went through a transition. Such transitions can happen even in a minute.
Can Sarin attract Congress votes?
I won’t say thousands of people from Congress would come to this side. In fact, the last KPCC meeting decided not to raise unnecessary criticism against Sarin, as it could backfire.
How will the Congress perform in this bypoll?
Congress will be shattered. The fight is between the LDF and UDF. Initially they said the fight is between the UDF and BJP. But Ramesh Chennithala amended it to an LDF vs UDF contest. It shows his political understanding.
When there’s a fight between the two fronts, won’t the BJP make gains?
We are very conscious about ensuring that the BJP is pushed to the third position. The minorities and the secular minded will stand with us. In the last LS poll we got 32% votes. We need just 3% of additional vote share. BJP will get less than 30% while the UDF will be between 30 - 32%.
What’s the LDF’s poll agenda?
The Union government’s neglect towards Kerala. Almost similar is the Congress approach. Rahul Gandhi didn’t make any statement against this. If he has any commitment, he should raise his voice. Will he dare to do so? Also Priyanka’s candidature. What’s the politics behind fighting Communists in Kerala? Can she say the fight is against the BJP?