Unlike 2019, opposition parties offer strong alternative to BJP in 2024: CPI's Binoy Viswam

Rahul Gandhi can win any constituency, but leaders should decide whether he should fight in north India, where BJP gets in 200 MPs, or Kerala, where they hardly win any seats, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam said.

Thiruvananthapuram: As the parties gear up for the Lok Sabha polls, Binoy Viswam, the Kerala state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), has asserted that opposition forces now have the confidence to present the I.N.D.I.A. formation as a compelling alternative to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

This confidence, he notes, was lacking during the 2019 elections.

In an interview with PTI, Viswam, who is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, elaborated on the potential of the I.N.D.I.A. formation, which comprises anti-BJP parties. He highlighted the necessity for unity among opposition forces to counter the ruling coalition effectively.

However, Viswam criticised the Congress party's move to field Rahul Gandhi from the Wayanad constituency, terming it as a "strategic misstep".

"During 2019, people demanded an answer to the question of an effective alternative to the BJP, but we had no answer. This time, I am confident that people now have a hope of having an alternative with the I.N.D.I.A. formation," the CPI leader said.

Viswam, who was nominated to the post of CPI state secretary in December last year following the demise of Kanam Rajendran, said in 2019, the NDA government was not fully exposed, but they will be completely exposed in 2024.

CPI is a key partner of the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala.

"All their promises—promises of 2 crore jobs per year, Rs 15 lakh in the accounts of all citizens, houses for all, fiber connectivity in all villages—have been shattered. They stand on the dead bodies of their promises. People now understand the BJP as a party that preaches a lot and practices nothing," Viswam said.

He said it is also of paramount importance 'to throw the RSS-supported BJP out of power to safeguard' the Indian constitution, secularism, and democracy.

As the leader of the party, which is fielding its candidate Annie Raja in Wayanad as the LDF candidate, Viswam did not cover his disappointment in state Congress leaders forcing Rahul Gadhi to contest again from Wayanad.

"I am a good friend of Rahul. I respect him and love him. In the numerous interactions I had with him, I know his clear vision for the country, and I see him as the future of the Congress party who can bring the Nehruvian ideals back to the party," Viswam said.

He said Congress leaders who force Rahul to contest in Wayanad need to answer who is the main enemy of the Congress party, whether it is the BJP or left-wing parties.

"Rahul can contest from any constituency in the country. But the leaders who push him to Wayanad should answer these questions. They should tell us which is the main arena of this fight: North India, the heartland of the BJP that sends more than 200 MPs to the Parliament, or Kerala, which has only 20 seats with the BJP winning none of them," Viswam said.

He said even if Rahul Gandhi contests from Wayanad, they will campaign for the win of the LDF candidate. "We will uphold the politics of the Left and its fight for safeguarding secularism, democracy, and the constitution," the CPI leader said.

He said during testing times in Wayanad, the people of the constituency could not get to see their MP.

"His (Rahul) presence was needed in Delhi, at the national level. Such a man is being forced to contest from Wayanad," Viswam said.

Besides Raja, the CPI has fielded three more leaders as Left candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, which has a total of 20 seats.

He said the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, though it has its weaknesses, will be able to form the government despite having multiple power centres.

"India is a big country with so many diversities. So, it is natural to have so many diverse views. An alliance means coming together of such diverse views, and we are confident to accommodate these diverse views and to take the alliance forward," Viswam said, adding that the Left parties joined the alliance realising the need for having a firm and fair voice inside the alliance.

He, however, did not cover up the possibility of Congress MPs switching sides in the event of the 2024 elections ending up in a hung parliament, with the BJP becoming the single largest party.

"There is always the possibility of Congress MPs switching over. But we can assure you that none of the left-wing parties will fall for such tactics of the BJP and will firmly support I.N.D.I.A.," Viswam added.

He also brushed aside the allegations against the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's family and the verdict in the killing of rebel CPI(M) leader TP Chandrasekharan a decade ago, dismissing them as having any impact on the prospects of the Left parties in Kerala.

"Allegations against LDF are nothing new. All along, we have seen such allegations, and LDF has faced them and come out victorious. People know the political honesty of LDF and will stand with LDF," he said.

Viswam also laughed at the 'dream' of Modi to win two-digit seats in Kerala.

"I saw that, and I tweeted yesterday saying that Modi has now got the expertise to crack jokes as well. Everyone in Kerala would have laughed while listening to his claims. If something of that kind happens, then crows in Kerala will fly upside down," he said.