A day after the CPI(M) settled the differences over its long-debated political line, the party’s Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat said on Saturday that the political resolution had only been “redrafted” and the official line on alliance with the Congress, in essence, remained the same.
At a press conference, Ms. Karat said that even under the newly amended line, the party’s West Bengal unit could not repeat its 2016 experiment, in which the Left and the Congress shared seats and carried out a joint campaign for the Assembly elections.
“What happened in West Bengal in 2016 was not in consonance with the political line of the party,” Ms. Karat said. Under the new political line, too, such an alliance with the Congress is not “permissible”, she added.
She said the political line had only been “redrafted” in an “agreed manner”.
Her statement could lead to some confusion within the party. Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday spoke about giving the State units the freedom to develop their own line. “What can be done or cannot be done has been clearly spelt out. On the basis of this, political line of the States can develop,” he added.
Ms. Karat stressed that the amendment in the political resolution should not be misconstrued as victory of any one side over the other.
Uncertainty looms
Her comments signal that a settlement on the issue is far from over.
While Mr. Yechury, who is in favour of keeping the option of an alliance with the Congress open, former general secretary Prakash Karat, who has the backing of the Kerala unit, rules out the possibility of an “alliance or understanding” with the Congress.
The party arrived at a consensus on Friday and took a middle path by omitting the word “understanding”, giving enough leeway to work with the Congress and allowing the State units to develop electoral strategies according to the prevailing political situation in the State.
Asked why the word “understanding” was omitted, she said that it was not omitted but only rephrased. “In view of the understanding within the polit bureau, a fresh draft on the issues was agreed upon. The minority view has not been accepted. The resolution was moved by the Central Committee. Paragraphs on which there were differences, they were redrafted in an agreed manner,” she said.
