No electoral alliance with Congress: Pinarayi Vijayan

The main focus of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) at its district level conclave at Thrissur, appears to be to reiterate the Kerala party unit's line that the Congress will not have a place in an alliance at the national level against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

This stance came out prominently when the state chief minister and party's de facto supremo in the state, Pinarayi Vijayan left little doubt that the party has no policy of allying with the Congress to oppose BJP. Even as Vijayan used most part of his inaugural speech to drive home the point that the BJP was the party's chief rival, he underscored the point that any political alternative has to be based on solid policies, and there was no room for Congress in that.

In a parallel development, and at a parallel district level meeting of Wayanad, CPI-M's state party Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan used his inaugural speech to deliver the message that the view of Sitaram Yechuri, the party's national Secretary in favour of an electoral understanding with the Congress to beat the BJP, did not enjoy the support of CPI-M's Kerala block.

At Thrissur, Pinarayi Vijayan said that the CPI-M would be in position to strike a deal with the Congress which followed neo-liberal economic policies. True, a strong political move is essential against the BJP, but trying to cobble together an alliance with the Congress which does not have the right policy and approach, will not address the realities. It had been made quite clear by the CPI-M's 21st Congress that it will not have electoral ties with the Congress party. And there are no circumstances now to make a departure from that position, he said.

The party, he noted, sees left unity against the BJP as of primary importance, for which alliances will have to be made with democratic, secular forces. The Congress does not figure there either, he said.

The Kerala leadership of CPI-M apparently aims at discussing the party's electoral policy at the delegates sessions of district conferences in order to consolidate the state unit's position that the party will not have any truck with the Congress. The Congress and the CPI-M are the leading parties of the two rival coalitions in Kerala. The district conferences are scheduled to end in the first week of February.