Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Peculiar situation brings Left closer to Congress

By Suresh Nambath

CHENNAI NOV. 20. With both the ruling AIADMK and the main Opposition DMK cosying up to the BJP, the Left parties are building a "secular platform" with the Congress. While political differences remain— the CPI(M) especially is uncomfortable with the prospect of an alliance with the Congress— , the Left parties feel the need for a broadbased people's movement to counter the growth of Hindutva forces in Tamil Nadu.

All secular parties which are not part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are welcome to join the emerging platform against the pro-Hindutva policies of the AIADMK Government, says the CPI State secretary, R. Nallakannu. And both the Left parties have no doubt that the Congress is secular, whatever the disagreements with it.

At the same time, Mr. Nallakannu says it is too early to decide on the possibility of a third front without either the DMK or the AIADMK as suggested by the TNCC president, E.V.K.S. Elangovan. "That is his wish; there is still time for the election," he points out.

'No place for DMK on secular forum'

Although the DMK joined hands with minorities' organisations, the Left parties and the Congress in opposing the anti-conversion legislation, Mr. Nallakannu sees no place for the DMK on the secular platform. As long as it remains in the BJP-led NDA, the party cannot be accommodated in any secular movement, he says.

Apparently, the Left parties see the DMK's attempt at re-establishing its secular credentials as only another manifestation of its rivalry with the AIADMK. The DMK attacked only the AIADMK, and not the BJP, on secularism.

In this context, the coming together of the Left parties and the Congress assumes a greater significance, especially after Mr. Elangovan declared on Sunday that his party was planning a third front with the Left.

No common cause with AIADMK

After having burnt their bridges with the AIADMK, the Left parties too find themselves closer to the Congress. Both the CPI and the CPI(M) have cold-shouldered the AIADMK despite an open invitation from the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, for forming a third front at the national level. The Left parties believe that it will be suicidal to make common cause with the AIADMK when they are actually involved in putting together a mass movement against the "anti-people" measures of its government.

In the eyes of the leaders of the Left parties, the AIADMK is trying to woo the BJP. Although the electoral prospects of a third front, which does not include either the DMK or the AIADMK, are not seen as bright, the Left parties, more particularly the CPI, see no other option at the moment. Even if the AIADMK does not fight the next Lok Sabha election in the company of the BJP, there will be every possibility of a post-election tie-up between the two parties. Helping the AIADMK add to its numbers in the Lok Sabha then might not aid the secular cause.

However, the Left parties too have differences over the Congress attitude. While the CPI does not envisage any difficulty in "seat adjustments" with that party, the CPI(M) is averse to being part of a Congress-led front. Although the CPI(M) was part of a Congress-inclusive front in the 1999 Lok Sabha election, it does not like the idea of being in a front in which the Congress will be the dominant partner.

The CPI(M) cites the Congress economic policy as the reason for the reservations about seat adjustments with that party, but, in actual fact, it is the rivalry between the two parties in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala which remains a stumbling block.

The CPI, however, feels that the CPI(M) should not adopt a too rigid stance on this issue.

But the CPI(M), while ready to cooperate with the Congress on issues such as secularism, would like to wait for political realignments in Tamil Nadu before committing itself on forming a third front with the Congress.

In any case, the peculiar situation in Tamil Nadu, where both the ruling party and the main Opposition are trying to get into the good books of the BJP, is bringing the Left parties closer to the Congress.

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