Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] appeared to warily eye United Democratic Front (UDF) ally and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader N.K. Premachandran’s controversial presence at a luncheon meeting hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament last week.
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan said the aura of political bonhomie that permeated the high-profile meeting had cast a shadow over the “shaky” secular credentials of the Congress-led UDF Opposition in Kerala ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
He said ”heart-to-heart” luncheon diplomacy to woo Opposition politicians to their side was the latest weapon in the BJP’s arsenal. The Sangh Parivar used such cosy and conversational meals with money power to persuade elected leaders from non-BJP parties to defect to its side. He said the BJP had repeatedly resorted to horse trading to construct fragile coalitions in States by buying Opposition legislators.
