BJP and Congress issued lists of some of its candidates a few days ago. The Sunday Guardian talked to general secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI) D. Raja regarding preparations of I.N.D.I.A bloc and LDF (Left Democratic Front) for upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Q. Some of the candidates have been announced by BJP and Congress; what about the other candidates of I.N.D.I.A bloc?
A. The parties of I.N.D.I.A bloc will announce their candidates separately. Like in UP, Congress, and Samajwadi Party have agreed on seat sharing and SP has announced candidates for some seats; the same will happen with other parties of I.N.D.I.A bloc also. For instance, in Tamil Nadu, we have agreed to contest on two seats in coalition with the DMK and Congress and will announce candidates soon.
Q. Your party has announced a candidate from Waynad against Rahul Gandhi; is there some kind of friction within the alliance?
A. No, the situation in Kerala is different, and the political situation varies from state to state. In Kerala, the tussle is between the Left Party-led LDF (Left Democratic Front) and the Congress-led UDF (The United Democratic Front), and in between these two, the BJP is trying to take advantage and have some kind of foothold in the state. As part of the LDF, CPI got four seats: Thiruananthapuram, Thrissur, Waynad and Mavelikkara. We have announced our candidates for these seats. Our situation varies from state to state, but we are united, as in Tamil Nadu, both left parties are with DMK and Congress, and in Bihar, we are part of Mahagathbandan (CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), Congress), led by RJD. The understanding for I.N.D.I.A bloc is to defeat the BJP at the central level.
Q. You said BJP is trying to take advantage of LDF and UDF; do you think it will be able to make any dent in Kerala?
A. No, Kerala people are mature enough and understand the political situation, so I don’t think BJP will have any mark in Kerala. Although BJP is trying to use all its resources and Mr. Modi keeps visiting Kerala and Tamil Nadu frequently, BJP leaders propagate false narratives on social media, but they don’t get any foothold there. So, I don’t think they will be able to dent, but we must be vigilant and cautious, and the secular democratic parties should not allow BJP to take any advantage; BJP must be defeated.
Q. BJP has a developed social media team; Congress is also building it; what about the CPI?
A. We have our own social media, but not like BJP. Some years back, they organized a social media convention in Delhi and called them social media warriors. PM Modi talks of digital India, but in the electoral bond case, SBI has asked the Supreme Court for additional time to furnish the details of electoral bonds. The BJP is the richest party; they have money, and with money power, administrative power, and central agencies under its command, BJP leaders think that they can manipulate perceptions on social media. But honestly, we use social media to tell people the truth.
Q. BJP also says that left parties have lost their ideological relevance; do you agree?
A. BJP says many absurd and unreasonable things. Prime Minister always targets the opposition, and this is not the way to get into debate. They have now come up with Modi’s guarantee; then, what happened to two lakh jobs every year that do not fall under Modi’s guarantee? The youth is facing an uncertain future; farmers are protesting, so BJP should discuss these things, but they say irrelevant things and only target opposition parties. As far as ideology is concerned, CPI is fighting BJP head-to-toe. We are consistent in fighting anti-people economic policies pursued by the government. The left is consistent in taking up issues of the livelihood of the people. So the left is consistent, and we want all secular democratic parties to come together and fight together. Our primary objective must be to defeat the BJP in order to save the Constitution, save democracy and save federalism to save secular fabric of our society. This is our concern and the primary objective. The BJP government is not with workers; it is not with farmers. It is not with toiling masses, but with corporate houses and big business houses.
Q. How do you draw comparisons between the UPA and NDA governments?
A. During UPA (United Progressive Alliance) regime with support from LDF, many legislations were adopted, like PM talk about fee ration scheme, National Food Security Act was adopted during UPA, while RTI and educational reforms were brought by UPA government. On the contrary, NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government’s achievements are the abolishment of Planning Commission, the adoption of the NITI Aayog, and the sale of PSUs. PM says ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’; if so, why are farmers and youths protesting? You gave Bharat Ratna to M. Swaminathan but didn’t fully implement the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation.