On CAA, Left sees an opening in Kerala, but why is Congress, not BJP, its main target?

The CPI(M) has also planned a rally in Kozhikode on March 22 under the banner of the Constitution Protection Samithi. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will address the rally and similar public events will then be held in other parts of Muslim-dominated north Kerala in the coming weeks. Besides, the Left government announced last week its decision to withdraw all cases registered in connection with the CAA protests of 2019. Of the 835 cases registered, almost 500 were in the process of trial.

Interestingly, as it builds up a case against the CAA, it is the Congress and not the BJP that is in the Left’s line of fire. Both parties are part of the national INDIA alliance and are involved in seat-sharing talks in West Bengal. But in Kerala, they are each other’s principal rivals and are unwilling to make any concessions.

The CPI(M) gambit appears to be that placing the CAA front and centre may help it deflect the Congress’s attacks over governance against it, and counter anti-incumbency.

The Congress is facing a dilemma as joining forces with the Left against the CAA runs the risk of denting its Hindu vote bank in the state, something that will benefit the BJP, while not taking a strong stand like the Left will further tilt Muslim voters towards the CPI(M).

There is also the matter of Rahul seeking re-election from Wayanad, the north Kerala constituency that has a sizeable number of voters from the minority community. In 2019, his decision to contest from there was attributed as one of the reasons for the Congress-led United Democratic Front’s (UDF) near sweep in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. This is why, CPI(M) insiders say, the party has trained guns on the former Congress president right from the get-go this time.

On Saturday, Vijayan kickstarted the LDF’s campaign in Wayanad, where the CPI’s Annie Raja is Rahul’s main rival. Vijayan came down on Rahul and the Congress, referring to the time when the citizenship amendment Bill was discussed in Parliament five years ago. “The loud voice of dissent from Kerala was that of the LDF member (A M Arif). The rest 19 (UDF members) were silent. Has Rahul said anything? Was he seen anywhere at that time? What is the difference between the stand of the Congress and BJP in this regard?”

Referring to the anti-CAA resolution that the Kerala Assembly passed weeks after the Bill received Parliament’s approval, Vijayan said the Congress at the time governed states such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, but “they did not go for such a resolution against the CAA”.

Before the Wayanad meeting, the CM also held back-to-back press conferences to allege that “the Congress was reluctant to react to the notification of CAA rules”. He asked, “Why did the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra keep quiet about the CAA? Were it not the Left parties that stood with the victims during the Delhi riots (of 2020, which started from the site of an anti-CAA protest)?”

Facing Vijayan’s criticism, the Congress has rallied behind Rahul, with party MPs, including Shashi Tharoor, releasing details of their interventions during the Lok Sabha debate on the CAA. Opposition Leader V D Satheesan of the Congress said the party in its Kerala campaign will focus on the Left’s “inept governance” along with national issues.

Meanwhile, state BJP president K Surendran on Monday accused the Congress of taking up the agenda set by Vijayan only to help shield lapses in governance and scandals involving the CPI(M). “Every day, the CPI(M) and Vijayan keep speaking on the CAA. It is only meant to divert attention from genuine issues. The Congress is backing it,” he said.