CPI(M) Polit Bureau coordinator Prakash Karat and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan leading a mass rally organised in conclusion of the 24th State Conference of party in Kollam on March 09, 2025.
| Photo Credit: C. Sureshkumar
The Indian National Democratic, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), comprising 26 non-BJP parties, was formed with the specific purpose of fighting the Lok Sabha election in 2024 and “nobody has given any thought to what it should be post-2024”, CPI(M) Polit Bureau coordinator Prakash Karat told The Hindu on the sidelines of the party’s State conference in Kollam on Sunday.
“Our party [CPI(M)] was against it having any organisational structure because you cannot have 26 parties with varying policies, ideologies, personalities, etc. having such a central unified structure. They tried to form a coordination committee, and we said it’s not going to work. Eventually, only the leaders used to meet. Some committees were set up but none of them worked. We said electoral understanding or seat-sharing should be done State-wise because no all-India discussion could be possible. For instance, the TMC [Trinamool Congress] and the CPI(M) cannot work together in [West] Bengal, and the CPI(M) and the Congress will not work together in Kerala. So, it was a State-wise electoral understanding for the Lok Sabha polls and it yielded good results. The BJP lost its majority and came down to 240 seats. So, the perspective or vision of the INDIA bloc was only up to the Lok Sabha election,” Mr. Karat said.
The INDIA bloc took a backseat in the Assembly elections and the byelections held after the Lok Sabha election because the fight was primarily between the parties in the grouping. Only in some States such as Tamil Nadu and Bihar, there are alliances featuring these parties that predate the INDIA bloc, he said.
“Post-Lok Sabha, these parties have to think if they need a platform and if so, how do they shape it. Can it be only election-oriented? If that’s the case, no need to do anything now,” Mr. Karat said.
BJP’s performance in Kerala
In Kerala, where a CPI(M)-led coalition has been in power for nearly a decade, the challenge before the party is political and not organisational, he said.
The Lok Sabha election has shown that the BJP has expanded in certain sections and parts of Kerala electorally. “In our review of the Lok Sabha election, this has come out sharply. We were taken unawares also in some places. There’s a general rightward shift globally which is there in Kerala society as well. How do you deal with that? That was one of the things seriously discussed at this State conference,” he said.
Mr. Karat said religiosity had grown among all communities lately, but the communal forces had begun to use it. “It affects the Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and others and it’s not a good thing for India. We have worked out some ways to address this culturally and socially,” he said.
Published – March 10, 2025 09:38 pm IST