CPI(M) to ally with Congress-NCP in Maharashtra Assembly polls if it gets a ‘fair deal’

In a major shift in its political strategy in the state, the Communist Party of India (CPI-M) may be open to an alliance with the opposition Congress and NCP in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, if it gets a "fair deal."

A senior CPI-M leader said the party state committee would meet for two days from Friday to discuss their strategy for the elections.

"A unified opposition is needed to take on the BJP- Shiv Sena, but we doubt if this will happen. There is a slim chance that the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) may ally with the Congress- NCP, thus splitting the anti-incumbency and secular votes," the CPI-M leader told DNA.

He added that hence, there was no point in joining hands with the VBA if it contested on its own as this would help the saffron alliance. "We can go with the Congress and NCP if we get a fair deal. Otherwise, we will have to fight alone," the CPI-M leader said. He explained that in the Lok Sabha elections, the CPI-M had sought the Dindori seat for its sole MLA Jiva Pandu Gavit, who represents Kalwan-Surgana in the state assembly. However, the NCP had fielded Shiv Sena defector Dhanraj Mahale but lost the seat to Dr Bharati Pawar (BJP). Incidentally, Pawar was the NCP's nominee from Dindori in 2014, but had lost to the BJP's Harishchandra Chavan.

The CPI-M had however supported VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar in Solapur, due to their association in peoples' movements, and Baliram Jadhav of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) from Palghar. The CPI-M had however taken umbrage to the VBA's alliance with the AIMIM led by the Owaisi brothers from Hyderabad as it was "a Muslim fundamentalist party."

In other constituencies, the CPI-M had asked its cadre to support those candidates who are best poised to defeat the BJP and Shiv Sena.

However, Ambedkar lost from the two seats—Solapur and Akola—that he contested from, while Jadhav was trounced by the Shiv Sena's Rajendra Gavit.

Though the CPI-M's representation in the Maharashtra legislative assembly has dropped from three in 2004 to one each in 2009 and 2014, it retains its pockets of influence in areas like Dahanu, Solapur city and Kalwan in Nashik and a strong presence in the labour union sector. Maharashtra has not sent a CPI-M nominee to the Lok Sabha after Ramchandra Ghangare who defeated former union minister Vasant Sathe of the Congress from Wardha in 1991. However, while the CPI-M's state secretary Narsayya Adam Master, who has a base among the local bidi workers, is a former MLA from Solapur Central, the seat is represented by Praniti Shinde of the Congress. Praniti is the daughter of former chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

The last Communist Party of India (CPI) MP from Maharashtra was Sudamkaka Deshmukh from Amravati in 1989. Madhavrao Gaikwad from Manmad and Namdeorao Kale from Wani were the last CPI nominees to be elected to the assembly in 1995.

Once a potent force in Maharashtra politics—the stalwarts of the Communist movement and the then undivided CPI like S A Dange, B.T Ranadive, S.S Mirajkar, Godavari and Shamrao Parulekar and Ahilyatai Rangnekar hailed from the state—the Parliamentary Left has seen a gradual decline in its electoral fortunes. This is a far cry from the days when leaders like Dange held sway over the textile labour belt in Mumbai.