NEW DELHI, JULY 21: For the Left, the split in the Janata Dal could not have come at a worse juncture - when the Left is scrambling to bring secular forces together and line them up against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Today, both parties put up a brave front by describing the split as a "foregone conclusion". As far as electoral prospects were concerned, the latest convulsion in the JD was not likely to make much of a difference, Communist Party of India and CPI (Marxist) leaders said."We are not surprised. This was to be expected sooner rather than later", CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said.Discounting the decision of JD leaders Sharad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel to break ranks with the Dal and align with the Samata Party and Lok Shakti, the CPI (M) felt the subterranean faults within the Dal had now come out in the open."Just months ago, the same people had voted out the Vajpayee Government. How will they explain this volte face? They will have to answer the people for this rank opportunism", said CPI (M) politbureau member Sitaram Yechury.The two parties pointed out that the Janata Dal's critique of the BJP was that the politics of kamandal had gained mileage from the reaction to `mandal' politics, and was devoid of social commitment.According to the Left leaders, Sharad Yadav's exhortations about the BJP's lack of commitment to social justice stood exposed. "He has himself abandoned the social justice agenda", said Yechury.While developments in Kargil had slowed the pace of electoral talks, the discussions on likely seat adjustments had gathered momentum, said Bardhan. Talks with potential election partners, even for the minimal seat adjustments, were reaching a crucial stage in four large states - Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa, he said.In the run-up to the elections, the Left is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to bring anti-communal forces together.Bardhan, who briefed journalists on the recent CPI National Executive meeting, said the party had decided to jettison the policy of maintaining "equidistance" from the Congress and the BJP, that it had followed thus far.This follows the Left's identification with the defeat of communalism as its immediate and singular goal. If, in the fight against communal forces, the Left had to take the help of the "lesser evil", in this instance, the Congress, it would be justified, he said.Asked if the CPI would enter into an electoral tie-up with the Nationalist Congress Party, Bardhan said, "We are prepared to talk to all secular, democratic forces fighting the BJP and the Shiv Sena or their allies", he said.But he was not willing to discuss the prospects of a Third Front. No third alternative could emerge without the Left being an integral part of it, and so far, there had been no talks with the Left on a third front, he said.
