The bitter fight between the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc allies in Wayanad, from where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) contested, in addition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has become an embarrassment for the combine. The constituency is part of the 20 in Kerala which went to the polls on April 26.
Outsiders, unaware of the peculiarities of Indian politics, can be excused at finding themselves nonplussed, while witnessing the campaign by the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc contestants in Wayanad.
On paper, the main objective of the allies was to defeat the right wing party candidate, K. Surendran, BJP’s state unit president. However, at the ground level, the reverse appeared to be true, going by the strong attack against each other by Rahul Gandhi and Annie Raja as they competed for the important seat.
In the process the Left party was wondering why the Congress leader decided to fight from Kerala instead of taking the BJP on in the Hindi heartland ofAmethi.
It also explains why Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Rahul Gandhi have been at each other’s throats. The CM had verbally attacked the Congress leader while inaugurating Annie Raja’s election convention.
Vijayan said the CPI-M candidate was a national level leader who had also participated in different protests in Delhi. In a stinging attack on the I.N.D.IA. Bloc leader, Vijayan said: “Annie and other Left leaders have had several cases registered against them. Did we see Rahul Gandhi anywhere then? Did he speak about the Citizenship Amendment Act during the Bharat Jodo Yatra?”
Raja has become Gandhi's main adversary in the constituency, a seat which the Congress leader had won by over 4 lakh votes in 2019. The fight for Wayanad, therefore, would be tough. Critics believe that while the Congress leader may retain his seat, thanks to the support of the Muslim League, the margin this time may not be as imposing.
In the last polls, Gandhi’s presence had helped the Congress-led United Democratic Front win 19 of the 20 Parliamentary seats. Considering the bitter fight between the I.N.D.IA. Bloc allies now, most analysts were diffident in predicting the same margin of victory this time, citing a split of votes.
That the CPI-M candidate is quite angry with the Congress was evident from her interviews in a section of the media. According to her, when the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc combine was being formed, the political parties concerned had discussed the ground reality of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). These, she said, worked as rival alliances in the state.
In the same vein, the CPI-M candidate had noted that the Congress picked its candidate much after she had begun her campaign in the first week of March. Surely, this situation could have been avoided considering that the combine’s main opponent was the BJP.
She said it highlighted the “political bankruptcy of the national party”which had virtually played into the hands of the BJP by contesting against an I.N.D.I.A. ally.”
If this was not enough, Binoy Viswam, CPI-M state secretary, on his part, slammed the Congress for fielding Gandhi from Wayanad, even questioning the party’s failure to “see beyond its nose. He wanted to know whether the Congress was focussing on the North, from where the maximum MPs are sent to Parliament, or on Kerala which sends only 20.
The Congress’ response was sharp and swift. Its leader, P. lashed out at Vijayan, wondering why the Chief Minister was treating a national election as an Assembly poll. “Despite being an ally of the I.N.D.IA. Bloc, the CPI-M is fighting this election as if it is a state poll” Chidambaram said.
Gandhi had also been slamming the CM, even asking why the BJP and the Central agencies were targeting him while ignoring serious allegations against Vijayan.
The public wrangling in the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc, formed to humble the BJP at the Parliamentary polls, has forced many old timers to inevitably recall the post Emergency days. That was the time when the Opposition combine from across India had come together to form a coalition government under Prime Minister Moraji Desaid, at the Centre after the Congress was routed in the polls.
The Janata Party was formed by leaders of different political parties and activists who joined hands to fight the Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. After the Parliamentary polls of 1977, and the defeat of the Congress, the coalition, comprising Indian National Congress-Organisation (Congress-O), Swatantra Party, Socialist Party of India, Bhartiya Jana Sangh and the Lok Dal, formed the government.
In addition, there was the Congress for Democracy, floated by erstwhile Congress party stalwarts like Babu Jagjivan Ram, H. N. Bahuguna and Nandini Satapathy. The Janata Party coalition, the first such experiment in Independent India, however, proved to be a disjointed array of political leaders whose ambitions overruled national interests.
Not surprisingly therefore, within no time internal fights and bickering among the senior leaders in the government embarrassed the country. Charan Singh, the then Deputy Prime Minister was willing enough to be coaxed by the Congress into deserting the coalition, all for the Prime Minister’s post.
Singh who was sworn in as PM on July 28, 1979, with outside support from Indira Gandhi's Congress-I, could not stay in office for long. His benefactor pulled the rug from under him, and elections were announced in January 1980.
In the ensuing polls, the Congress romped home winning 353 seats. The Janata Party managed a mere 31, and Charan Singh's Janata Party- Secular won 41.
This recall is a reminder to the I.N.D.IA. Bloc to get its act together immediately, if they want to beat the BJP. Or, for that matter, even to put up a good fight.
In this context, Sharad Pawar, president of the National Congress Party (NCP ) made a telling comment recently while interacting with a national daily. According to him, while the members of the combine may not be working together during the elections, it would be imperative for them to do so, whether they get a majority or not. That is, if Parliamentary democracy is to survive.
The question though is whether the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc will pay heed to his counsel, especially as available indications show that the Opposition combine may have done well in the first two phases of the seven-stage polls.