Congress-Trinamool rift decided our stand: Karat
June 25th, 2012 - 10:23 pm ICT by IANS Kolkata, June 25 (IANS) The widening rift between the Congress and Trinamool Congress made the CPI-M back Pranab Mukherjee in the presidential race, party general secretary Prakash Karat said Monday.
In an article in the Communist Party of India-Marxist’s Bengali daily ‘Ganashakati’, Karat said abstaining from the elections would have been tantamount to lining up with the Trinamool and damaged his party’s prospects nationally.
Karat’s statement comes days after the presidential polls exposed cracks in the Left’s unity.
While the CPI-M and Forward Bloc decided to support Mukherjee, the Communist Party of India and Revolutionary Socialist Party decided to abstain from voting.
Unhappy with the CPI-M’s stand, its upcoming leader Prosenjit Bose resigned from the party, which hit back by expelling him.
“In the UPA, there was a rift between the TMC and the Congress over the candidate to be proposed. The TMC has been at odds with the UPA government on various issues. The candidature of Pranab Mukherjee in the current presidential election has led to a deepening of the rift.
“The rift within the ruling alliance is something that the CPI-M took into account when deciding its stand,” he said.
Having failed to get A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as candidate, the Trinamool is left with the option of either abstaining or supporting Mukherjee, he said.
He said the CPI-M also took into account the rifts in the UPA and NDA.
Karat denied that supporting the UPA candidate had “diluted the Left’s struggle against the neo-liberal policies of the center”.
- CPI-M, Forward Bloc to back Pranab, CPI, RSP to skip poll (Lead) - Jun 21, 2012
- Trinamool hits out at alleged Congress-Marxist axis - Jun 21, 2012
- Left parties divided over supporting Pranab - Jun 21, 2012
- Presidential poll: Trinamool, CPI-M both losers (West Bengal Newsletter) - Jul 20, 2012
- CPI-M congratulates Pranab, holds back support for now - Jun 15, 2012
- Pranab telephones Buddhadeb for support in presidential polls - Jun 14, 2012
- CPI-M meet on president poll Thursday - Jun 20, 2012
- Left to decide Thursday on presidential candidate - Jun 17, 2012
- Pranab is a friend of Communists: Trinamool - Jul 08, 2012
- Presidential poll divides left, right, centre - Jul 10, 2012
- CPI-M expels rebel member questioning support to Pranab - Jun 23, 2012
- Trinamool's votes not needed in presidential poll: Congress - Jul 06, 2012
- CPI-M trying to create rift between Congress, Trinamool: Mamata - Jun 30, 2012
- Pranab arrives in Kolkata, to meet supporters Monday - Jul 08, 2012
- Congress should answer why allies named Manmohan: Left - Jun 14, 2012
Tags: abdul kalam, bengali, candidature, communist party of india, communist party of india marxist, CPI, general secretary, kolkata, liberal policies, nda, prakash karat, pranab mukherjee, presidential election, presidential polls, presidential race, revolutionary socialist party, rifts, tmc, trinamool congress, UPA