CPM’s open door policy a boon for Congress dissidents
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Congress Mukth Bharat’ was the target set by the BJP when it came to power in 2014 at the Centre. In the last seven years, the country witnessed several high-profile defections from Congress to BJP and some of those were the result of armtwisting tactics employed by the ruling party using the Central investigation agencies to bring unwilling leaders in the opposite camp to its fold.
Though the CPM-led LDF in Kerala has no plan to make the state ‘Congress-Mukth’, recent developments in the Congress and the tactical moves by the CPM to cash in on from those have added strength to the theory that the intention of the CPM is to ensure disintegration of Congress in Kerala and thus establish a perpetual rule in the state. When dissident Congress leader K P Anilkumar dropped in at the AKG Centre on Tuesday, three politburo members jointly welcomed him. Flanked by S Ramachandran Pillai and M A Baby, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the party extended a wholehearted welcome to Anilkumar.
There were initial rumours that Anilkumar was in contact with NCP leaders, including state president P C Chacko and senior leader Lathika Subhash who had joined the party from Congress, so that he might be accommodated in the NCP. However, talks initiated by Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem in Kozhikode ensured that Anilkumar would get an accommodation in the CPM. When P S Prasanth, who contested as Congress candidate from Nedumangad, was expelled from the party, CPM district leadership in Thiruvananthapuram acted smart and ensured that Prasanth joined the CPM.
The CPM has decided to relax complex procedures for obtaining party membership for accommodating leaders from the opposition camp. To justify this, the CPM puts forth the argument that it wants disgruntled Congress leaders not to join BJP. CPM acting state secretary A Vijayaraghavan told reporters in Kochi that in other states, leaders who ditch Congress flock to BJP as both parties follow same policies.
“In Kerala, the CPM has taken a strong stand against BJP. The LDF government has proven that an alternative is possible,” he said. Political observer Dr Azad said it was impossible to digest the logic behind someone leaving Congress after 43 years to join the ideologically-opposite CPM. “It raises more questions about his commitment to politics that he practised all these years. Will he have the same commitment in the new party too?” Azad told TNIE.