Kochi: CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s speech at the CPM party state conference in Kochi did not have any Congress reference and that caught the attention of political observers. In his address that continued for one-and-a-half hours, Yechury criticised the Narendra Modi government and American imperialism. However, he failed to mention about the Congress party, which is the prime opponent of CPM in Kerala.
It has to be recalled that Yechury is seen as the supporter of a national alliance with Congress while the Kerala faction is against it. In the 22nd party congress of CPM, the row over political tactical line of the party had made headlines. The leaders from Bengal supported Yechury while former general secretary Prakash Karat stood with Kerala leaders.
CPM in Kerala struggles to explain why it opposes the Congress party in the state and have an alignment in other states. They were part of the DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu in the 2021 assembly elections. This year, CPM and other left parties back Congress in Manipur.
Yechury asserted the need for strengthening the Left forces against the BJP. He also said the draft political resolution should be widely discussed in Kerala. The resolution calls for bolstering the unity of Left parties and the 'democratic forces' to bring down the RSS-backed government.
The CPM state conference ahead of its 23rd party congress started on March 1. It will end on March 4 after electing the new state committee.
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