In the rough and tumble of politics, M.M. Mani and Kadakampally Surendran, CPl(M) leaders and former Ministers, line up along the same side and hold aloft the same red flag.
However, the common bonding of ideology ends where a football match begins, especially when the fierce rivals of Argentina and Brazil lock horns. While Mr. Mani is a loyal fan of men in blue and white, his party colleague is a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the canaries.
The ongoing Copa America involving both the Latin American giants seems to have brought to the fore the differing football affinities of the Marxist leaders.
A recent Facebook post by Mr. Mani on the eve of Argentina’s tie with Chile has gone viral not the least owing to his friendly banter with Mr. Surendran who commented to it in jest.
“There might be people who attack and criticise us. They may keep doing it but it hardly affect us,” read the post supportive of Argentina with the hashtags invoking Che Guevera and Maradona. The post has since then attracted over 53,000 likes, over 8,000 comments, and over 2,000 shares.
What has equally garnered eyeballs is a comment beneath it by Mr. Surendran. Addressing his former ministerial colleague by his popular prefix ‘Aashan’, he goes on to declare that the cup belongs to the men in yellow.
Not one to let go any opportunity for repartee, Mr. Mani responded that self confidence till the end was good.
The to-and-fro has since been shared and tweeted by the likes of writer N.S. Madhavan.
“It was just fun. I love to see Argentina winning,” said Mr. Mani when asked about the post and the response to it from Mr. Surendran.
Apart from the friendly banter between the two there were even funnier comments. A party loyalist seemed torn between his love for his beloved leader and loyalty towards Brazil. “Being our beloved Aashan, I don’t feel like saying anything but then I can’t help since Argentina is involved. Argentina will loose,” he commented.
Another said that like the media outlets who predicted Mr. Mani’s defeat at the last Assembly election were humbled, Messi will lift the trophy in the face of Argentina haters.
