Abolition of religion is the prerequisite to happiness, Karl Marx said. The critique has seemingly lost its relevance for key communist functionaries in Kerala and Bengal, where the Left is in a desperate bid to revitalize its support base.Hardcore Marxists such as Biman Bose, Gautam Deb, Surjya Kanta Mishra and Abdus Sattar have visited Hooghly's Furfura Sharif. The 14th century shrine commands reverence among Bengal's Muslims.Time was when the party frowned upon any such indulgence. Former Bengal minister Late Subhas Chakrabarty was made to explain his decision to worship at a Kali temple in 2006.But that was then.Today , in 125 of Bengal's 294 constituencies, electoral success is likely to hinge on the minority vote. That explains the compulsion to pay homage at Furfura Sharif. A similar story is playing out in faraway Kerala, another state the Left is desperate to recapture. Here too, CPM has begun participating in Hindu festivals, wary of the BJP's growing influence and talk of the party poaching its cadre.Why else would Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan be chief guest at an event hosted by the Hindu Parliament? Vijayan explained that the organisers had promised him they'd stick to secular principles. Last year, the CPM set aside its ideological moorings completely and celebrated Shri Krishna Jayanti. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan later said it wasn't a religious celebration “but the end of Onam“.Then again, during the Sabarimala season, a CPM-controlled palliative care unit in Kannur helped pilgrims, providing them rest and refreshment facilities.But CPM leaders don't feel such overt participation in religious events dilutes their core ideology .“Many of these utfits call us on social issues. This does not mean endorsing their religiosity,“ CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury says. Adding that he was invited to Kerala's Sivagiri Mutt earlier this year, Yechury says, “After EMS Namboodiripad (Kerala's first CM), I was the first communist leader to be invited. I spoke about spiritual uplift that can be achieved by atheists also.“Bengal's Surjya Mishra, CPM state secretary , also insists these practices don't clash with party line. “I don't worship at home.Neither do I participate in religious rites. I go to Furfura Sharif every year. But that's because people they hold a fair there,“ Mishra says. “It's a good opportunity to connect with people. I don't participate in Durga Puja. But when my neighbours call me to partake of prasad, I don't say no.“Influential Bengal Muslim spiritual leader Quari Fazlur Rehman says he's averse to such visits. “I don't attend Iftar parties.They were never a culture in Bengal. It was an idea imported from UP and New Delhi,“ the cleric who leads the Eid prayers at Kolkata's Red Road says.