What146;s left?

Consider the first fallout of the Karnataka verdict. On Monday, the UPA-Left coordination committee meeting on the civil nuclear initiative was called off. The Centre8217;s weariness of discussing with the communists the next steps in India8217;s talks with the IAEA on nuclear safeguards is understandable. The Left has already begun demarcating the lines from which it feels the Congress strayed to bring upon itself this electoral setback. CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat says the verdict is a reflection on the Congress8217;s credibility and the UPA8217;s performance. His colleagues chime in with ample references to the Common Minimum Programme to make the point. To hear their glee, one could be forgiven for believing that the Left has actually achieved a hard-won victory. This is why a Congress spokesperson8217;s question, post-Karnataka, strikes resonance: what have the Congress8217;s allies done to improve its prospects?

There is no denying that the Congress ran its campaign in Karnataka most inadequately. But in going it alone, it had one idea right: the Indian voter is, in every state, now working on a two-alternative choice. If the Janata Dal S took away some of the 8220;secular8221; vote, it is only because the Congress was less than artful in projecting itself politically. But for the Left to dissociate itself from the Congress8217;s loss by citing the Central government8217;s performance is disingenuous. This ruse by the Left of being both ally and adversary is at the heart of the UPA8217;s problem. This way, the Left gets to own any initiative that works 8212; like the NREGS, which is in actual fact a Congress-led idea. It also takes credit for obstructing the Congress-led UPA8217;s autonomy to make economic and foreign policy. Yet, the Left tries to safeguard its ideological patch by running down the policies of the Congress. Therefore, not only is the UPA thwarted from governing as it may have, it is also held liable for the consequences of acquiescing to such pressure.

While both supporting the UPA government and chipping away at its credibility, the Left has been candid about its intention: to use political fragmentation to achieve its dream, a non-BJP, non-Congress third alternative. That multi-polar moment, as state election results from Uttar Pradesh to Karnataka show, passed a long time ago. The UNPA, the trial balloon floated as a nascent third alternative, has already shrunk. The AIADMK makes no secret of its affinity with the NDA, the DMK8217;s kept away. The Samajwadi Party is showing openness to an alliance with the Congress. The Gowdas are discredited. Mayawati never took the UNPA seriously. The Left should introspect. Having hollowed out the terrain held by the Congress, it may itself have no way of occupying that space.