Kochi: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said that the Congress’s “obstinate” stand not to form united fronts with like-minded parties resulted in its heavy defeats in three states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Speaking in Chittur in Palakkad district as part of the “Nava Kerala Sadas”, chief minister Vijayan said, “When you faced the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party], it was important to be as united as possible in these election-bound states. But here, contrary to that idea, Congress thought that it had already won [the elections]. They thought they were a big force and that nobody could face them. We can see here that it has led the party towards disaster.”
“Congress calculated that the BJP would face heavy setbacks in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But Congress was not ready to stand united with other parties. This obstinate policy of the Congress has adversely affected it on the electoral stage. No one can understand and accept their stand towards the Samajwadi Party. Congress declared that it would not have an alliance in the [Madhya Pradesh] assembly elections and Akhilesh Yadav reacted against it,” Vijayan added.
The veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader also accused the Congress of not fighting against the communal policies of the BJP, especially in Madhya Pradesh. He said the campaign style of its senior leader Kamal Nath made it seem as if the Congress was the ‘B’ team of the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}The veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader also accused the Congress of not fighting against the communal policies of the BJP, especially in Madhya Pradesh. He said the campaign style of its senior leader Kamal Nath made it seem as if the Congress was the ‘B’ team of the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}Vijayan asked, “BJP’s wrong policies being implemented in the country have to be opposed. Has Congress been able to oppose it? What was the campaign style of Kamal Nath, one of the senior leaders of the Congress? Wasn’t it as if the Congress was the B team of the BJP? Instead of opposing communalism, didn’t Kamal Nath adopt the same communal policies? He became a spokesperson for communalism.”
The Kerala CM argued that the results of the assembly elections in the three Hindi heartland states have underlined the need for unity among secular parties. He asked the leaders of the Congress party to realise this fact and learn lessons from the defeats. “We have to understand that Congress is responsible for this adverse situation. They have to realise it and learn lessons from it. The nation demands and desires that BJP be defeated. BJP can only be defeated by unifying all parties,” Vijayan said.