Merely days after Sonia Gandhi hosted a gala dinner to show a united opposition in the upcoming General Assembly elections in 2019, cracks already seem to have started to develop in it.
As per reports, an editorial has appeared in CPI(M)’s journal named “People’s Democracy” which claims that Congress won’t succeed in another UPA experiment owing to it having lost all credibility. It thus advised that the most effective way to stop the BJP is to pool in all the anti-BJP votes, state by state.
The CPM has also claimed that regional parties like BJD, TRS and TDP won’t accept an alliance with the Congress. The CPM last month also made it clear in a draft political resolution that it won’t indulge in any alliance or understanding with the Congress for defeating the BJP.
The editorial has also proceeded to signal all round doom for the opposition by warning that a non-BJP, non-Congress “Federal front”, which was conceptualised by Telangana Chief Minister KC Rao, was also bound to fail.
Such hostility of the CPM towards the Congress and possibly the larger opposition might be ironic considering, the left parties were amongst those who had attended Sonia Gandhi’s dinner, which was meant to send a message of opposition unity.
This editorial also comes in the backdrop of the CPM alleging discrepancies in the Rajya Sabha nomination paper of Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Singhvi is contesting from West Bengal and has received supported for the same from the TMC.
The CPM leader Rabin Deb who was contesting against Singhvi had alleged that the Congress leader’s nomination papers were forged and had demanded that they be cancelled. The other allegations levelled include a discrepancy in Singhvi’s age, his statement being forged and the notary papers being stamped and not signed.
Singhvi has then retorted against the allegations, by calling them “petty and puerile”. While terming the allegations as malicious and false, Singhvi claimed that the CPM was convinced of its defeat and hence had stopped “fighting like gentlemen”. The report also claimed that Singhvi hadn’t yet ruled out filing a defamation case against the communist party.
