CPI(M) slams Mamata for 'understanding with BJP' charge, reminds her of stint in Vajpayee govt

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby on Friday hit back at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for alleging that an "understanding" between the BJP and the Left party helped Kerala alter its name, pointing out that she had held ministerial posts in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

With Assembly elections slated in both states in the next few months, the CPI(M) leader asserted that his party was "recovering" in West Bengal, which was once its stronghold but has been losing ground since it was dislodged from power by Banerjee's TMC in 2011 and currently has neither an MP nor an MLA there.

"Elections will prove... We are definitely going to improve the electoral performance of the Left Front and the CPI(M)," he said at a press conference held here after a meeting of the CPI(M) Politburo that discussed the upcoming assembly polls.

The Union Cabinet's nod to alter the name of Kerala to Keralam on Tuesday had drawn the TMC supremo's ire since her government's proposal to change West Bengal's name to Bangla has been pending with the Centre for a long time.

Responding to Banerjee's charge of an "understanding" between the BJP and the CPI(M), Baby pointed out that she "had been a Central minister in a BJP government".

"Our comrades are fighting the RSS and BJP in Kerala to prevent their entry into the mainstream politics of the state. To accuse the CPIM of having a deal with the BJP.... she must be thinking that the CPI(M) is also like her," he said.

Asked about the Congress deciding to go it alone in the West Bengal assembly polls, the CPI(M) general secretary said he does not want to comment on whether it is a "good riddance" or something "not positive".

The two parties had allied with each other for the 2021 Assembly elections, but both drew a blank.

"For political parties to reach an understanding, it requires the willingness of all involved. There could have been discussions and consultations.... Now, I don't want to comment on whether this is a good riddance or was something not positive," he said.  Baby said that the CPI(ML) Liberation will be a part of the Left alliance in West Bengal, and talks are going on with three to four other groups that may join the bloc.

The CPI(M) Politburo appealed to people of West Bengal to defeat the "authoritarian, anti-women and anti-poor rule of the TMC and also the communal BJP by voting for the Left Front".

"The BJP is spreading communal venom and utilising every opportunity to promote divisions on religious lines. Various Muslim fundamentalist and sectarian forces are also active in the state and are trying to come together in the name of fighting the BJP," the party said in a statement.

"These kinds of religious consolidations will increase polarisation and harm the democratic and secular character of the society. The TMC is also trying to further such religious polarisations to retain power," it charged.

About his party's plans for Kerala, where the CPI(M)-led LDF is in power for two consecutive terms and now faces a challenge from the Congress-led UDF and the BJP, which is looking to gain a foothold in the southern state, Baby said candidates will be decided in the next few days and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will lead the campaign.

He claimed that the UDF has been "mobilising huge amounts of money and rallying various kinds of sectarian forces in its support. It is playing a disruptive role inside the Assembly and outside by coordinating with the BJP. The BJP is also trying to expand in the state by promoting communal divisions. Both these forces have to be defeated".

In a statement, the CPI(M) said that in Kerala, "despite the constant efforts of the BJP-led Union government to strangulate the LDF government", it had put up its best performance by focusing on the elimination of extreme poverty, the first state to do so in the country, improve public health and education, ensure the protection of the rights of the workers and regular supply of essential items through the PDS.

It has also ensured distribution of pensions to all those deserving, the party said.  "Given this exceptional track record, we appeal to the people to once again vote decisively in favour of the LDF," the CPI(M) said.

About the polls in Assam, where the CPI(M) would fight as part of the Congress-led alliance, the Left leader said they are in discussions for at least two seats, even though the party is asking for more.

"The BJP is running a rabidly communal and divisive campaign and is hoping to benefit from it. Considering the larger interests of the people of Assam, as the largest opposition party, it is upon the Congress to ensure that anti-BJP votes are not split and the BJP is defeated," said the CPI(M) Politburo statement.

The Left party also appealed to people of Tamil Nadu to re-elect the DMK-led alliance, of which Left parties are also a part. PTI AO AO NSD NSD