Madame's ride on the tiger’s back
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‘Would Rahul Gandhi have made it to Delhi from Wayanad without strong backing of Muslim communal outfits? The worst elements of minority communalism joined Priyanka Gandhi's processions’. CPM Polit Bureau member A. Vijayaraghavan shouted these barbs while opening the party’s delegates conference in Wayanad. Later taking to Facebook, the Marxist leader clarified that he meant extremist communal parties. In his eyes, Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI are the extremist outfits. It became clear with the statement of state secretary M.V. Govindan that it was not Vijayaraghavan's personal opinion but a well-thought-out decision by the party itself. However, this is the equation the party is consistently repeating at events being conducted in local units across the state. The country's largest Left party had given the same message in the by-election campaigns in Wayanad, Palakkad and Chelakkara. Despite the humiliating drubbing in the polls, the party is seemingly resolved to continue its vain attack on Muslim minority. It is much like the adage goes—‘Even after the cow has died, the buttermilk remains sour’. Even the party workers keep wondering why the shadow war is being waged against an organization they have never heard of; they have no choice but swallow the rhetoric of the party’s upper echelons without touching their palates.
The background is clear. Just as the government’s second term is drawing to a close, the party leadership is extremely disturbed at people’s judgement that the regime is a complete failure. From the home department directly governed by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the health, education, industry, labor and finance sectors controlled by party comrades are rudderless and being beset by rampant mismanagement. Vigilance department looks on as a scarecrow even as complaints of nepotism, wrongful appointments and corruption pile up. Considering the helplessness with which the chief minister is facing the machinations of police chief loyal to the extremist Hindutva government at the Centre, people are forced to believe in the opposition’s accusation that the chief minister is afraid of something. The change of heart in people has reflected in the by-polls in Thrikkakara, Puthuppally and Palakkad constituencies. The CPIM is disturbed by the fear that if the trend continues the party will lose the only stronghold left in the country in the assembly polls due a year and a half later.
The Marxist party leadership is also disturbed by the fact that Muslim minority in the country has thrown its weight behind INDIA bloc which in turn has benefited the UDF in Kerala. This is the gumption behind the party’s false claim that the Congress and the Muslim League formed an alliance with radical Muslim communal organizations resulting in Rahul Gandhi and then Priyanka Gandhi winning by a large majority in Wayanad. The dilemma behind Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and party secretary M.V. Govindan justifying Vijayaraghavan without a shred of sense of justice or evidence is not incomprehensible. At the same time, the CPIM leadership calculates that the charges against Muslim minority will help the party retain eroding Hindu votes. One cannot help reminding the party that the fate awaiting the party is that of a madame who rode on a tiger’s back. The gist of the story is that when they set out Madama was smiling, on return the tiger was smiling. Hindu Aikya Vedi's state vice president Valsan Thillankeri’s speech at Janajagrata meeting points to this: ‘A. Vijayaraghavan's observation that Wayanad is a victory of communalism is an example of how communists tell the truth albeit rarely. All communist leaders should loudly proclaim such truths, realizing that the CPM is a party with a majority of Hindus. The Muslim League is the most communal party’. There are those within the Left Front who understand that the only way out is to regain its secular image, because the party will only fail in its competition with the extreme Hindutva attitude of the Sanga Parivar. They simply remain silent fearing the Pinarayi Vijayan’s intimidating eyes. Let us not lose sight of the fact that neither the CPI nor the INL or the NCP is supporting the big brother in this crazy campaign. The truth is that it was the open alliance of the Congress and Muslim minority organizations including the Jamaat-e-Islami that helped the CPM to get three MPs from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan to the Lok Sabha. Who is the party fooling with its allegation that the Congress' victory in Wayanad was only due to the votes of 'extreme Muslim communal organizations'?