THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP MLA O. Rajagopal’s maiden vote to CPM led LDF’s Speaker candidate P Sreeramakrishnan has not taken the Left parties by surprise as they view it as a mischievous ploy to confuse people. The BJP-RSS which consistently accused CPM of killing its cadre and not allowing democratic space to function, has always depicted communists as its enemy No 1.
Not long ago the BJP put up an exhibition in Delhi to expose CPM violence. Just recently BJP-RSS workers even attacked the CPM headquarters AKG Bhavan in Delhi. Throughout the two month-long campaign the BJP led by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah kept the attack on CPM reinforcing the fact that ideologically and politically the communists and BJP-RSS remain sworn enemies.
So why did Rajagopal chose to vote for LDF ? Left leaders say the BJP which has been accused of trading votes with Congress which had even facilitated Rajagopal entry into Assembly from Nemom, now wants to create confusion in the minds of people.
“We have 91 MLAs, Rajagopal’s vote carries no value. We didn't require protem Speaker S Sarma’s vote. Such tactics will not succeed in creating confusion among people. He could have abstained from the poll but he voted deliberately for obvious reasons,” said CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
CPI central secretariat member Pannyan Raveendran said BJP’s cheap tactics won’t work in Kerala. “It exposes BJP’s political pauperism. Had the LDF Speaker candidate required just one vote for victory, then the BJP vote would have mattered. The BJP made elephantine claims about winning a dozen seats. Narendra Modi, Amit Shah propped up a front comprising caste and communal organisations targeting the Left. But despite communal politics and huge money they could get just one seat that too with the help of Congress. People of Kerala had rejected them once again,” he added. The LDF leaders say Rajagopal’s vote has only exposed the Sangh Parivar further.
