As the INDIA bloc prepares for a crucial meeting to strategise against the BJP, the CPI-M is set to confront the Congress over contentious Kerala election allegations, potentially impacting opposition unity.
Key Points
- CPI-M MP John Brittas will represent the party at the upcoming INDIA bloc meeting.
- The Left party seeks clarification from Congress regarding allegations of a CPI(M)-BJP understanding in Kerala.
- CPI-M general secretary M A Baby wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, sharing concerns with other alliance members.
- The issue, a point of contention since the Kerala Assembly elections, is expected to be raised by Brittas at the meeting.
- The INDIA bloc meeting aims to discuss joint strategy against the BJP-led government and reinforce opposition unity.
The Communist Party of Indi-Marxist will be represented by its Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas at the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) meeting on Monday, sources said, even as the Left party awaits a response from the Congress over allegations during the Kerala Assembly election campaign.
CPI-M Seeks Clarification From Congress
According to sources, CPI-M general secretary M A Baby has recently written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge seeking clarification on remarks by senior Congress leaders that suggested a political understanding between the CPI-M and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kerala.
The letter, copies of which were also shared with other INDIA bloc constituents, argued that such accusations were inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that underpins the opposition alliance.
The Left party has maintained that it is awaiting a clarification from the Congress on the matter.
Sources in the CPI-M said the party has not received any response from the Congress so far, and Brittas is expected to flag the issue at the meeting.
In the communication, Baby had expressed concern that charges levelled by Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kharge, went beyond electoral criticism, which raised questions about the functioning of an alliance formed to collectively challenge the BJP.
The issue has been a point of contention between the two parties since the Kerala Assembly elections.
Key Leaders To Attend INDIA Bloc Meeting
Senior leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc are scheduled to meet in the national capital Monday to discuss their joint strategy to take on the BJP-led government and reinforce opposition unity.
Trinamool Congress supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge are among those likely to attend the meeting, as per sources.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Aam Aadmi Party are unlikely to attend the meeting.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the recent assembly elections in which the TMC and the DMK were ousted from power in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
