‘Paid seats’ rattle Left parties in Kerala

The CPI(M) and CPI, which saw their mass base eroding in their strongholds of West Bengal and Kerala in the Lok Sabha elections and which are facing the prospect of being toppled from the status of national parties, are still grappling with the ‘bourgeois deviations’ in the selection of candidates in Kerala.

Four months after the April 10 election, the ‘paid seat’ controversy over selection of two Independent candidates by the CPI and the CPI(M) — major partners in the Left Democratic Front — have resurfaced.

While the CPI has openly admitted that it had it erred in the selection of Bennet P Abraham as its candidate in Thiruvananthapuram against the Congress’ Sashi Tharoor, the CPI(M) has so far papered over the row over the fielding of Christy Fernandez in Ernakulam against Congress candidate KV Thomas.

The LDF fielded the largest-ever number of Independents in the elections. For a total of 20 seats, the LDF fielded six Independents. Of these, five were fielded by the CPI(M) for its quota of 15 and one by the CPI from its share of four.

Considerations of caste, religion and narrow local political goals were allegedly the criteria in the selection of most Independents but, in the case of two, money is suspected to have changed hands.

There had been allegations of the parties and party leaders receiving “donations” from the two — the phenomenon is dubbed as “paid seats”. Activists of the two parties were baffled at the selection of the two political nobodies against two strong Congress candidates, Union Ministers at that.

Political nobodies The CPI had chosen Abraham, member of an influential Christian community in Thiruvananthapuram, with the tacit support of front partner CPI(M), ostensibly to cash in the community’s goodwill. But Abraham had nothing to do with communism. On the contrary, he was a prominent functionary of the Church of South India and a senior official of the church-run medical college.

There were reports that Bennett contributed handsomely to the CPI’s campaign fund and into the pockets of a few leaders.

In the case of Fernandez, a former Gujarat cadre IAS officer, there were allegations that a rich cashew exporter had paid for his candidacy. The exporter had wanted to pay back a favour he had received from Fernandez and hence had arranged the Ernakulam candidacy. The exporter was close to the CPI(M), too.

However, Fernandez was anything but a Left sympathiser. A typical bureaucrat and totally apolitical, he was, to boot, a department secretary when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Unsurprisingly, both Abraham and Fernandez lost the elections. The aftershocks forced the CPI to order an in-party investigation which found the selection was flawed. Action was recommended against three leaders who had nominated Abraham.

Leader resigns CPI State secretary Pannian Ravindran this week told a news conference that Abraham’s candidacy was a mistake, but asserted that no money was received by the party from him.

One party leader has already resigned and Ravindran, a highly respected leader, is said to be planning to step down.

However, the CPI(M) has consistently refused to admit publicly that Fernandez’s selection was flawed though many leaders have dropped hints to the contrary. Many party committees have not allowed a discussion of the issue at all.

On Wednesday, General Secretary Prakash Karat said there was nothing wrong in the Ernakulam candidate selection. But MM Lawrence, a senior CPI(M) leader, said earlier this week there were many “untold stories” behind the selection.

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