UDF constituent All India Forward Bloc will not contest from Dharmadam constituency in Kannur against incumbent Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the upcoming polls to the Kerala Assembly.
Confirming that the seat will be returned to the Congress, the secretary of the Forward Bloc's central committee G Devarajan said his party won't be contesting the polls to the assembly but will remain with the UDF.
The Forward Bloc had earlier asked the UDF leadership to allot either Kollam or Chathannoor seats but the Left party was asked to take on the CPM leader from his stronghold instead.
"The Kannur DCC asked a UDF top-brass to fight from Dharmadam. They want me to take up the challenge of representing the Forward Bloc as they believe I stand a better chance among the left-leaning voters. Those who have a problem voting for the Congress might find us acceptable, they say," Devarajan told TNIE.
However, the Forward Bloc state committee denied the suggestion right away, a decision which was later supported by their national leadership. A direct face-off between leaders of two Left parties could challenge the credibility of the anti-BJP movement at the national level, the party observes.
"Though we are not a strong contender in the Kerala political landscape, the Forward Bloc is a potent Left force across India and it is not right for a national level leader to contest against CPM's chief ministerial candidate. There is a strong anti-BJP platform developing in the country, and the farmers' protest is also starting to show the strong political colour of which Congress, Forward Bloc and CPM are all part. There will come instances in the future where Pinarayi Vijayan and Forward Bloc would be part of the same anti-fascist campaigns and if we face off directly, it could shake the credibility and weaken the movement, our central committee has said," Devarajan said.
The Forward Bloc decided not to contest the polls as their intentions to contest from Chathanoor or Kollam seats were turned down by the UDF leadership. They were in relay talks with the alliance leaders despite the Congress announcing candidates to both the seats stressing the point that the communist parties won all 11 seats in Kollam in 2016.
"Since we aren't a pan-Kerala force, the alliance should have allowed a seat from where we could fight comfortably. We give in our claim for Kollam seat as they wanted the DCC president, who we also feel is a formidable candidate, to contest there. Hence we demanded Chathanoor - a constituency where UDF finished third in the last elections. I don't think it is too much to ask for. However, due to Congress factionalism, UDF is afraid of a backlash if the seat is given to any other ally," Devarajan said.
Though the Forward Bloc received some positive signals in the beginning, they were told of the rebel moves among the Congress cadre and that a dispute with them could even affect the grand launching of the AIFB among the UDF voters.
During the 2016 assembly elections, CPI's GS Jayalal won from Chathanoor claiming 67,606 votes, while Congress candidate Soorand Rajasekharan (30,139) finished behind BJP's BB Gopakumar (33,199). Congress, which is also the biggest member of the UDF, has decided to field N Peethambaran Kurup from the seat this time. Film star Mukesh who fought on a CPM ticket in Kollam won by a comfortable margin by claiming 63,103 votes against Congressman Sooraj Ravi, who got only 45,492 votes. On March 14, KPCC chief Mullappally Ramachandran announced DCC President Bindu Krishna as the UDF nominee to take on Mukesh from the seat.
The UDF leadership kept on insisting that Devarajan fight from Dharmadam, pointing out how the Congress and all Left parties fight together in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, despite their differences in Kerala.
"Rahul Gandhi attacks the LDF while campaigning in Kerala despite the Congress-Left alliance in other states. If he can, then why can't AIFB do the same, they asked us until we closed the seat-sharing talks with an emphatic no on Tuesday," Devarajan said.
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and AIFB, two communist parties with a limited support base in Kerala, used to be a part of the CPM-led Left front for decades before they quit due to alleged disrespect by the CPM state unit. AIFB was unhappy with how the LDF received UDF defectors like Kerala Congress (Secular) by offering seats while they continued to ignore long-time allies like them.
Founded by Subhas Chandra Bose, AIFB has two MLAs in the West Bengal assembly while they continue to increase their foothold in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Tripura among other states.