'Kushti' to 'yaari': CPI(M) and Congress's complicated 'rishta'

In politics, there are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends, only permanent interests. This often-quoted saying by William Clay perfectly defines the relationship between the Congress and the CPI(M), who are foes in Kerala but are joining hands to take on the saffron party in the upcoming Tripura Assembly elections.

The CPI(M)-Congress alliance will contest 56 seats - the Left party, which was in power in Tripura for 25 years till 2018, will contest 43 seats, while the grand old party will take on the BJP in 13 seats.

Also Read: Only double-engine BJP govt can protect Tripura from 'triple trouble' of Cong, CPI(M), Tipra Motha: Shah

The recent alliance adds another chapter to their "not-so-compatible" relationship as the history suggests. BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have also not shied away from pointing out the "kusti" and "yaari" of the alliance partners in the South and the Northeast.

The history of hostility

Though the Congress remained the fulcrum of Indian politics in the early years after the Independence, it was the Left which offered a robust opposition to the grand old party. In fact, the Left was the first party that successfully formed a non-Congress government in Kerala in 1957. The government, however, was dismantled in a span of just two years by the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress at the Centre.

The bad blood between the two did not limit itself to Kerala. In the 1970s, cadres from both sides used to get into fisticuffs, spilling blood on the streets of West Bengal, another Left bastion.

In 1980s, first Kerala CM and Communist leader E M S Namboodiripad said that he would even ally with the devil to defeat the Congress.

A change in the script

Even though the two were inimical to the core, their common enemy BJP helped them bury the hatchet. In 2004, the CPI(M) offered outside support to the Congress to help Manmohan Singh become the Prime Minister. However, the Left parted ways in 2008 over the US nuclear deal, bringing the Congress government to its knees.

In the 2016 West Bengal elections, the CPI(M) and the Congress again joined hands, only to suffer an ignominious defeat. The Congress managed to win 44 seats, while the Left Front won only 32 seats.

In the following West Bengal elections of 2021, the Congress and the CPI(M) went further down as they drew a blank.

Even though the two have blown hot and cold, it is again imperative to note that the CPI(M) has held harsh views against the Congress.

In a Kannur party meet last year, the CPI(M) was quoted as saying by The Indian Express: “The Congress party represents the interests of the Indian ruling classes — bourgeoisie and landlords, led by the big bourgeoisie. In states where it heads governments, it continues to pursue neo-liberal policies. Its political influence and organisational strength have been declining and currently it is plunged in a series of crises with defections of several leaders to the BJP in various states. While it proclaims secularism, it is unable to effectively mount an ideological challenge to Hindutva forces and often adopts a compromising approach. A weakened Congress is unable to rally all the secular opposition parties.”

The rapprochement, however, has given the BJP another chance to mock the parties. “Our opponents came together not for the development of the country or the state but to save their existence. Two separate entities have now become one,” Nadda had said while addressing an election rally at Amarpur in Gomati district.

In an election rally on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also prophesied that the CPI(M) will taste defeat, with Congress as its partner.

The results of Tripura Assembly elections will, however, give us a robust view on whether the alliance worked in their favour.