Will civet cats, scorpions replace hammer, sickle?

Will a mousetrap, civet cat, octopus or scorpion supplant the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s [CPI (M)] celebrated hammer, sickle and star as election symbol?

At a public meeting in Kozhikode on Saturday, party central committee member A.K. Balan mused on such an arguably beyondbelief possibility, inadvertently causing a stir in political circles and exposing the CPI(M)‘s flanks to an Opposition attack.

Candid remark

Mr. Balan appeared to candidly remark on the pivotal nature of the Lok Sabha polls by telling party workers that only a requisite number of MPs and a sizeable portion of the vote share would help the CPI (M) preserve its iconic symbol and national status.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee acting president M.M. Hassan sought to play on Mr. Balan’s words on Sunday.

He noted Mr. Balan had “subconsciously chosen endangered species” as an alternative election symbol if the CPI(M) lost its hammer, sickle and star symbol.

Fear of defeat lurked in the CPI(M) leadership’s psyche.

‘CPI(M) at its wit’s end’ Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said the CPI(M) was at its wit’s end. It was fighting to preserve its national status and poll symbol and required the BJP’s tacit help at the polling booth.

In contrast, Mr. Chennithala said, the Congress fought to displace the Sangh Parivar from power.

Mr. Chennithala also claimed that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would never face his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal’s predicament given the latter’s alleged symbiotic association with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Electoral space for BJP Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said Mr. Balan’s words indicated that the CPI(M) jockeyed to provide the BJP electoral space in Kerala at the expense of the Congress, an INDIA Bloc ally.