Kolkata, Jan. 29 -- Is the CPI(M) in a desperate bid to form an alliance with suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir's one-month-old 'Janata Unnayan Party' (JUP)?

Questions were raised across political circles after CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim held a meeting with Kabir on Wednesday at a hotel in New Town. The ruling TMC has satirically asked if the CPI(M) has become a political beggar.

Salim, however, downplayed the speculation, saying that the meeting was only an attempt to understand Kabir's intentions and political thinking. Whether the CPI(M) and JUP will work together may, however, depend upon the mentality of the latter and how far it will work as an "anti-BJP" and "anti-Trinamool" force, he added. According to sources, the discussion between the two leaders lasted for over an hour.

Many have raised eyebrows as the leader of a party that had always projected itself as secular, anti-communal, held a closed-door meeting with a controversial figure like Kabir, who often triggers controversy through his statements.

Kabir has proposed to build a Babri Masjid-like mosque in Murshidabad. Political analysts have raised two key points as to what prompted an old party like CPI(M) to reach out to the chief of a newly formed political outfit and how it was aligning itself with a leader who often triggers controversy for "communal" remarks.

Incidentally, in the 2021 Assembly elections, the party had entered into seat adjustments with the Congress and the minority-dominated Indian Secular Front (ISF), a move that failed to deliver electoral gains.

Kabir has, however, claimed that the meeting was positive. He had also expressed hope that an alliance may be forged with the CPI(M) and the Left. He had also claimed that he might form a coalition with the parties that are anti-BJP and anti-TMC. Whether the meeting between two leaders will ultimately lead to formal alliance or a seat adjustment remains to be seen.

In reaction to the meeting, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "The CPI(M) appears to be turning into a political beggar. Its leader is visiting hotels with a begging bowl. The Left Front has no capability to field candidates in 294 seats in Bengal under the leadership of Selim."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.