YES

Despite our differences, we are both committed to a democratic, inclusive India

Rajeev Gowda

Recently, the Congress’s offer to support Sitaram Yechury instead of its own candidate for election to the Rajya Sabha was spurned unwisely by the Marxists. The party offered to sacrifice its seat because Mr. Yechury is a respected parliamentarian who adds firepower to the opposition benches and an articulate voice that counters the falsehoods of the Modi sarkar. The Congress demonstrated how some sacrifices are worth making at the strategic-national level. The larger cause involves the national interest of holding the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its governments accountable to the people. Thus, while analysing this question, one must look at both the strategic-national and tactical-regional perspectives.

Commonalities and differences

Strategically, both agree that the forces of Hindutva are opposed to the idea of a plural, inclusive India and our constitutional ideals. We differ on economic approaches to poverty alleviation. The Left is sometimes anachronistic and dogmatic, whereas the Congress adapts to the zeitgeist. Another flashpoint involves the use of violence by Left cadres, of which Congress workers have faced the brunt in Kerala, West Bengal, and Tripura. But we are both committed to a democratic, inclusive India grounded in social justice and equity. Preserving that India requires a strong alliance of democratic forces across the country. Our main ideological opponents are the divisive forces of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP.

However, tactical considerations in States like Kerala, where the Left and the Congress oppose each other strongly, can come in the way of strategic cooperation at the national level. We must explore how to achieve the delicate balance between competing against one another in some States while coming together for the larger cause of combating divisive forces at the national level. Some analysts argue that if the Congress and Left ally in States where they have historically opposed one another, then a vacuum would be created, and this could induce partypersons to defect to any viable anti-Left formation, including the BJP. But this is not the situation in most States. If we draw a line from Kerala to Kashmir, in the States to the left, centre, and immediate right of the line, the Congress has a strong organisation and is mainly in a direct fight against the BJP. There are no tactical problems in allying in these States. The BJP must be fought both on the ground and in the realm of ideas. Thus, an alternative alliance has to articulate a new narrative.

A credible alternative

A model would be the Common Minimum Programme that worked well during the first United Progressive Alliance government and set up a strong social safety net through a rights-based legislation. A combined opposition could offer a vision and plan of action to address pressing concerns such as education, health, jobs and agrarian distress, which will appeal to those left behind by the BJP’s suit-boot ki sarkar. Our track record of delivering people their constitutional rights ensures that we are a credible alternative.

Large numbers of citizens are disgusted by the BJP’s violence, vigilantism, vandalism and brazen distortion of truth, history and Hinduism. Many voted for Narendra Modi because he promised inclusive development, faster growth, anti-corruption measures and job creation. All of these have turned into mere jumlas. The people of India are looking for leaders who they can count on to fulfil the vision of our founding fathers. Such a platform will be ready when the Left, Congress and secular, regional forces come together for the larger cause of liberating India from the communal clutches of the BJP.

The views expressed are personal

Rajeev Gowda is a Congress MP, and Chairman of the AICC's research department

NO

An electoral alliance between the two will only serve to ideologically weaken the Left

Prasenjit Bose

The defeat of the Left Front in Tripura has renewed calls for an alliance between the Left and the Congress to take on the BJP juggernaut. However, the election results showed how the BJP acquired power in the State mainly by eating into the Congress’s vote base. The wanton demolition of Lenin’s statue in Belonia, Tripura, demonstrates the ideological roadblock that the Sangh Parivar faces from the Left.

Opposition to neo-liberalism

The Left’s ideological resistance to the RSS-BJP’s communal-fascistic project is — and will be — a vital component of the struggle to defeat the BJP. A programmatic understanding or an electoral alliance between the Congress and the Left will only serve to ideologically weaken the Left, which is committed to an alternative socio-economic programme. Opposition to the neo-liberal policies pursued by both BJP and Congress-led governments is central to the politics of the Left. The neo-liberal regime has led to the emergence of a corrupted corporatocracy, which has increased socio-economic inequalities, joblessness and rural distress, besides distorting the democratic process through the unfettered use of money power. The increased acceptance of the communal politics of the RSS-BJP in the middle class cannot be seen in isolation of these processes.

The primary task of the Left should be to build people’s movements in opposition to the neo-liberal regime by allying with diverse democratic forces and people’s organisations. Without a determined struggle, the Left will get further marginalised and/or co-opted.

This does not imply equating the RSS-BJP with the Congress or any other secular party. If a situation arises where the Left’s support becomes necessary to oust the Modi government from power and form a secular government, the Left should not hesitate in extending that post-poll support. Such support should be based on principles, not on opportunistic electoral considerations. Overall, the Left should not give up on its programmatic independence, which offers the only hope for an alternative, post-neoliberal order.

Equation across States

Those arguing for a Left-Congress alliance on pragmatic considerations fail to appreciate the ground realities. The extant political equation between the Left and the Congress varies across States, where there are many regional players. In the States where the Left still has a consequential base, a Left-Congress alliance would be electorally counterproductive. In Kerala, a Left-Congress alliance can only expand the political space for the BJP; the polarisation between the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front is the best way to keep the BJP out of the fray. In West Bengal, the Left-Congress alliance in the 2016 Assembly elections not only failed to get popular endorsement but led to the Left falling to the third position behind the Congress and enabling the BJP to fast emerge in the State by eating into the Left’s base. Besides, an ‘all in unity against the BJP’ line for the Left will also mean an alliance with the Trinamool Congress, which can only lead to the liquidation of the Left. In Tripura, there is hardly any Congress left to ally with.

Both critics and well-wishers of the Left often argue that the Left has become an ICU patient and therefore needs the Congress as an ally to survive. But an ICU patient needs the help of a doctor, not another ICU patient like the Congress. Ideological rejuvenation and alliances built from below through popular movements can be that doctor that the Left must turn to.

Prasenjit Bose is an economist and an activist

IT’S COMPLICATED

The Left should consider an alliance with the Congress to reinvent itself

Manindra N. Thakur

‘To be, or not to be’ is the current dilemma of the Indian Left. The electoral defeat in Tripura has increased the debate within the Left on the issue of joining hands with the Congress to fight the fascist BJP. Resolution of this dilemma may not alter the history of Indian politics as the Left at present is neither ideologically nor organisationally influential. However, its decision would have historical importance as it would stick with it for years.

At this juncture, the Left has two choices: one, not to bother too much about its electoral prospects and instead make efforts to expand its social base by waging grass-roots struggles against communalism and capitalist exploitation; two, align with the Congress to electorally defeat communal forces.

Two choices

The first choice is a long-term exercise aimed at social transformation and egalitarianism through a people’s struggle. The second is a more pragmatic choice of prioritising the fight against the immediate danger of being eliminated from the political arena. The alliance with the Congress could at least help the Left fight against fascism which is in the garb of majoritarian politics. The religio-cultural nationalism of the BJP, if not confronted electorally, will cause permanent damage to the social fabric necessary for democracy.

However, the dilemma of struggling alone versus aligning with the Congress is not an easy fix. It amounts to prioritising secularism over socialism — a difficult choice for the Indian Left, at least theoretically. In fact, except anti-communalism, the Congress mostly follows an agenda that is antithetical to that of the Left. Moreover, the Left cadres would feel cheated by such alliances as they are generally engaged in ideological as well as electoral battles against the Congress at the grass-roots level. Such alliances would not only confuse them but also alienate them from their leaders.

What the Left should do

The only option for the Left is to think of ways through which it can convert the struggle against communalism into a struggle for socialism. The Tripura vote has shown that the Left cannot by itself survive the communal onslaught of the BJP, which uses high-voltage money power micromanagement techniques to win elections. It will have to reinvent itself by learning from past experiences. It has to initiate a serious dialogue on Marx, Gandhi and Ambedkar, so that its discourse can simultaneously address the issues of dignity and distributive justice. It also has to go beyond the ‘opium thesis’ and learn from the experiment of Latin American Liberation Theology in order to handle the tricky question of religion. Similarly, instead of insisting on state ownership of property, it could favour experiments in commons such as that by the Mondragon Corporation of Spain. This new path would help the Left engage with the Congress in a more meaningful and sustainable way by enlarging the space for transformative politics.

No doubt, with growing unemployment and high cost of living in this crony avatar of capitalism, the future lies in an egalitarian ideology. The Left should consider an alliance with the Congress as a breathing space for reinventing itself so that it can gain ground among the unemployed youth, marginalised farmers, angst-ridden middle class, humiliated minorities, neglected lower castes and disenfranchised small communities. In short, before making alliances, the Left should ensure that these alliances are beneficial for it to expand its base and popularise its ideology.

Manindra N. Thakur is associate professor at the Centre for Political Studies, JNU