Prakash Karat to support Pranab Mukherjee

  THE support extended to Pranab Mukherjee for his Presidential election  is a new strategy envisaged by Prakash Karat, General Secretary of CPI(M). The decision had no full support of the Left Democratic Front as the C.P.I. and R.S.P. decided to abstain from voting. Sri Karat did not support abstaining as Trinamool Congress, arch rival of communists in Bengal, would also be abstaining from voting and he did not like to be seen following with that Party's policy. The left has only 5% votes in the 4896 Member electoral college.


It is interesting to note that the line adopted by the party now has a diametrically opposite flash back. Now neither the Congress Party nor Sri Pranab Mukherjee had officially asked the Communists to support in the Presidential election since the communists are in the opposition camp .  But when the Communists were part of the U P A at the center in last parliament the congress had fervently requested them to support the Indo-American nuclear agreement and at that time Karat stood adamantly against it and eventually left the U P A endangering it.

During those days of discussions upon discussions the Congress envoy for the meetings was Pranab Mukherjee and I have seen on T V frustrated Pranab coming out of the meetings in desperate mood complaining the communists' obstinacy almost in tears.Nothing could change the mind of Karat at that time and he ultimately left the UPA against the wishes of Bengal wing of the party. The Bengal Communists have still its resentments against Karat.

Mr.Karat also said  that Bengal wing of the party was important and that he was following their wish to support Pranab. While the statement of Karat  is an oblique political maneuvering to please the Bengali wing, the support to Pranab becomes a poetic justice for the cruel negation meted out on to Pranab during the indo-U.S nuclear discussions.

Karat would only be happy to enter the UPA on a convenient date and remain there for good on that stable ground rather than floating with the wind as now. It could have been done now itself had certain factors stood against such move.1 Trinamool congress has not left the UPA yet  and it is unthinkable to join UPA when TMC is a partner of it. 2.The Kerala wing of the party would fight against such a move now as the Congress led Government there is hunting down Party leaders  there upon the murder of a political leader.

In his artcle he says that the political alignments are going to change soon. In other words, he wishes Trinamool Congress might leave U P A soon. In that case it would not be very difficult to pacify the Kerala Comrades and to join UPA.

As for the UPA, the communists would not throw more spanners in the works than Mamata Banerjee is doing at present.

Any way Mr.  Prakash Karat is discreetly turning his cart to the old parking space.






.