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Tension eases in LDF as some leeway emerges

C. Gouridasan Nair

Decision on Ponnani, Kozhikode seats likely on Monday

CPI(M) talks peace on Ponnani Lok Sabha seat
JD(S) told to wait till Monday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was a blow-hot-blow-cold situation in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Friday with the Communist Party of India launching a no-holds-barred attack against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and threatening to put up candidates across the State and the latter seemingly climbing down from its earlier stand on Ponnani and conceding that the CPI would get to contest four seats.

The apparent change of heart of the CPI(M) State leadership was the result of intervention by the party’s national leadership which advised restraint on the question of both Ponnani, over which the CPI and CPI(M) have crossed swords, and Kozhikode, which is sought to be taken from the Janata Dal (Secular). Since the decision on both seats was taken by the CPI(M) State committee, the matter would be referred back to the committee, which is being convened on an emergency basis on Monday. The leadership of both the CPI and JD(S) were told to wait till then for a solution to the disputes.

Veliyam’s outburst

The first part of the day belonged to CPI State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan who did not mince words when expressing his party’s anger at what he termed attempts by the CPI(M) to impose its ‘arbitrary’ decisions on the rest of the alliance and chip away at the total number of seats being contested by his party. He placed the blame for the current crisis squarely on CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and said if there was any attempt to take any of his party’s seat, it would mean parting of ways between the CPI and CPI(M) and the end of the LDF.

CPI candidates

Mr. Bhargavan announced the names of the party’s candidates in Thiruvananthapuram (P. Ramachandran Nair), Mavelikara (R.S. Anil), Thrissur (C.N. Jayadevan) and Ponnani (A.P. Kunhamu) and declared that if the CPI(M) leadership was not prepared to accept the four seats of the CPI, the party would put up candidates in all the constituencies other than those allotted to the Kerala Congress (J) and the JD(S).

“We might lose our three seats, but the CPI(M) will find that it cannot win even a single seat without our support,” Mr. Bhargavan said.

To a question whether the dispute in the LDF would not affect the image of the Third Front being floated at the national level, the CPI leader said, “You must ask those who speak about Third Front whether it is proper to pull the rug from under their coalition partners.”

Pinarayi’s reply

In a measured reply at a news conference held shortly thereafter, Mr. Vijayan said he did not expect the CPI to leave the LDF as the political context that gave birth to the alliance was still relevant. The CPI(M), he said, had never tried to wrest any seat from the CPI nor had it taken the initiative to field Husein Randathani as the front’s candidate in Ponnani.

He said the CPI State secretary too was privy to the LDF State committee decision to have an Independent candidate in Ponnani and Mr. Randathani was approached by CPI State assistant secretary K.E. Ismail. They later performed a volte face probably because of criticism from within their party, the CPI(M) leader said. Although he conceded that the CPI would get four seats, he did not identify which the fourth one would be. He continued to root for Mr. Randathani saying that he had made impressive progress on the campaign front.

Taking a dig at the CPI leader’s claims about his party’s strength, Mr. Vijayan said that truth was that in 1965, the CPI had lost its deposit in 54 out of the 79 seats it had contested.

The LDF conventions scheduled for Saturday and Sunday have been postponed.

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