Despite Bengal debacle, Congress, Left eye alliance

NEW DELHI: The electoral debacle of a seat pact between Congress and Left parties in the West Bengal assembly elections may not be a deterrent for the two sides to stitch another understanding in Manipur where assembly polls are due next year.

Congress and Left parties’ leaders confirmed that talks are at a nascent stage but both sides are keen on a pact. A meeting between the two parties is also set to take place at the CPI office here on Sunday.

“The shape and nature of the pact is yet to be finalised. But talks are on,” CPI general secretary D Raja said. The Congress for the longest part in the history of the northeastern state enjoys 35.1% popular votes. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got more than 36% votes in the 2017 assembly elections.

The CPI and CPIM, now marginal entities in the state’s politics, had just 0.74% and 0.01% votes, respectively, in the last polls. The Congress’ interest in a pact with Left parties mainly stems from the fact that the two outfits, especially the CPI, have cadres in all parts of the state.

“An Olympic medal winner’s father is a Left party worker in Manipur,” a Congress worker, who did not wish to be named, pointed out.

“The Left parties might not be able to win a seat on their own now but in an alliance, it can boost support for both sides,” a senior Congress leader, involved in the northeast affairs, said on condition of anonymity.

In the West Bengal polls held in May this year, the Congress and the Left parties drew a blank for the first time in a tight fight between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP.

The two sides have been staunch rivals in Kerala, where the Left defeated the Congress in the April assembly polls, defying the trend of change in state government every five years.

A senior Congress leader pointed out that the talks for a pact in Manipur with otherwise ‘weak’ political parties should also be seen as party leader Rahul Gandhi’s keenness to engage with the Left.

“Last year, the TMC was keen to join hands with the Congress to elect a common candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat. They had also finalised former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar’s name when Rahul preferred to ally with the Left parties to elect former Kolkata mayor Bikash Bhattacharya,” another senior leader said, seeking anonymity.

The Congress and the Left are also working together at the national level to put up an opposition front against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.