CPI(M) remains divided over Cong
HYDERABAD: The two factions of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), associated with Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat, traded charges on the second day of the 22nd Party Congress here on Thursday.
A delegate from Punjab told the Kerala lobby to “allow the elected general secretary Sitaram Yechury to work” while a few members from Kerala, a state backing Karat, questioned why Yechury went ahead and presented the minority views at the Party Congress on Wednesday.
A few leaders from Assam and Maharashtra even demanded voting by secret ballot. “It would mean no one would know who votes for whom from which state,” said a politburo member who did not wish to be identified.
In CPI(M), voting takes place with a show of hands. Yechury said the Party Congress has not seen a secret ballot since he has been in the Central Committee.
Many members, however, also strongly pitched for unity in the party and pointed out that the entire energy should be focused on fighting against the BJP.
Party insiders, on condition of anonymity, said that eight states are behind Yechury while Karat enjoys the support of nine. While West Bengal backs Yechury, one of its delegate, Kallol Majumdar, spoke out against Yechury’s line.
Efforts are also on for a patch-up between the two sides and find a middle path in the party’s political-tactical line visà-vis the Congress.
With many amendments given by both sides on the much-debated political-tactical resolution, a steering committee of the CPI(M) will meet on Friday to consider all the amendments and make a proposal for an amicable resolution to the dispute, party leaders added.
Yechury insisted that his camp is not seeking permission for an electoral alliance with the Congress. “There is no dispute over electoral alliance with Congress. There is no dispute in the priority that the BJP should be defeated. Each one of us knows that our priority is to get rid of the BJP-RSS government. The only difference is on how to achieve this target,” he said at a press conference here.
Leaders close to Yechury maintained he wants the phrase “political understanding” to be made a part of the resolution.
This, said a politburo member who did not wish to be named, would allow CPI(M) more space to manoeuvre in the elections.
On Wednesday, Karat also tried to show flexibility and said that the political-tactical line and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections should not be mixed up.
For the time being, Yechury also played down the possibility of a rare vote on the political-tactical line. “The amendments will be known tomorrow morning. If anyone presses for his or her amendments, there can be voting. Otherwise, steering committee considers all amendments and makes a proposal.”