The CPI(M)’s decision to spurn the Congress and tie up with the Telugu Desam in at least two districts of Andhra Pradesh in the forthcoming zilla parishad elections has less to do with any national-level ‘‘realignment of forces’’ but is rooted in the longstanding rivalry between the two communist parties in the Telangana region of the state, well placed Left sources indicated here today.Following the formal notification for local body polls in the state yesterday, there have been hectic consultations between various political parties and fresh permutations are being thrown up. News that the CPI(M) had agreed to join hands with the TDP in Khammam and Nalgonda districts while the CPI was sticking to the Congress made headlines in the local papers today.The decision, coming a day after the conclusion of the CPI(M) Central Committee meeting in Hyderabad, was interpreted as part of the party’s attempts to distance itself from the Congress and a step in the direction of a ‘‘third alternative.’’ The fact that the TDP, after decisively breaking ties with the BJP-led NDA, has been wooing the Left parties for some time further strengthened this impression.The real reason for the CPI(M)’s apparent shift in stance, however, is not connected to national politics and has been taken only on the basis of ‘‘local conditions’’ — a euphemism for the traditional differences between the CPI and CPI(M), which have been seeking to expand their base at the expense of each other in the two districts.According to CPI(M) local leaders, the party has a much bigger ‘‘grassroots presence’’ in Nalgonda district even though the CPI won the Lok Sabha seat in the 2004 polls. The CPI, they say, won the seat only because of the seat-sharing arrangement with other secular parties (Cong, CPI-M, TRS), dismissing the party’s demand for the post of ZP chairman in the district.In Khammam, on the other hand, the CPI(M) won the Assembly seat in 2004 without any seat adjustment — defeating the Congress, TDP, CPI and others in the fray. Therefore, its demand for more seats, including the chairman’s post, has ‘‘greater legitimacy’’ than the CPI’s in either of the two districts is the refrain.The micro-level politics reflects a larger phenomenon — the CPI(M)’s decision to focus on its own growth potential in a key southern state rather than get hemmed in by considerations of national politics. The CPI(M) central leadership has, therefore, given a free hand to the state unit to work out poll tactics that could differ from district to district.The CPI(M)’s disclaimers notwithstanding, the TDP is hopeful that the Nalgonda-Khammam experiment could be replicated on a much larger scale in the future. The TDP had close ties with the Left parties for several years before jumping ship to board the NDA alliance at the Centre. After its 2004 rout, Chandrababu Naidu has been keen to revive the old non-BJP, non-Congress alliance in the state and work towards a ‘‘Third Front’’ at the national level. The zilla parishad polls could be a pointer in that direction, TDP leaders feel.
