Left questions Rahul’s EC protest tactics ahead of Opposition strategy meet

The future course of the Opposition’s campaign against the Election Commission (EC) is set to be discussed at a lunch meeting on Wednesday (October 7), amid differences over the political messaging of Tuesday’s protest and a larger question over who drives the Opposition mobilisation on the ground.

Left leaders feel that while the Congress, as the largest Opposition party, can lead the show at the level of MPs and national leaders, the mobilisation on the ground has been substantially driven by the Left’s organisational machinery. The distinction has become increasingly visible in the protests against the EC, with Left student organisations playing a significant role in bringing people out on the streets.

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Even the protests called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in recent days have drawn heavily on the organisational work of Left student groups, particularly the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Association (AISA), and All India Students’ Federation (AISF). Their networks across campuses in Delhi and among youth organisations have helped provide much of the ground-level mobilisation, even when the political leadership.

Messaging differences

It is against this backdrop that the Left has questioned the manner in which Tuesday’s protest in Delhi was organised, particularly the demand for a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

“We had some issues with yesterday’s mode of protest. The demand for a meeting with the CEC or the EC is illogical. Left parties never had such a demand. We are fighting for the removal of a person whom we consider totally corrupt and morally bankrupt. So what is the point in meeting him,” asked AA Rahim, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member.

Rahim said the decision to hold a sit-in demanding a meeting with the EC was taken solely by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and that even senior Opposition leaders, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and KC Venugopal, were not aware of it beforehand.

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“We are fine with any sit-in there. But the demand should have been for his resignation, or even a protest against the police action. The politics and the objective of the protest are what matter to us,” Rahim said.

The differences, however, do not appear to be about the participation of the Left in the broader campaign. Rather, they reflect differing approaches to its political messaging and coordination. The Left parties have been among the consistent participants in the mobilisation against the EC, while their student organisations have helped build the protests beyond the parliamentary Opposition.

Confusion over media reports

Rahim said the Left was also confused by media reports suggesting that the Congress had issued a release naming MPs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party (SP), and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) while leaving out Left MPs who had been participating in the protests from the beginning.

“We were told by the media that Congress had put out a news release naming TMC, SP and even BJD MPs, while leaving out the Left MPs who were on the streets from the beginning. So there was some confusion and we felt there was a problem. Now they are saying no such release was issued. We are not raising any issue over that,” he said.

He said questions over who gets credit for the protests were secondary. “Taking credit and such things are minor in this context. What we are concerned about is the protest, its aims and its politics,” Rahim said.

Coordination challenges

Rahim also said he was among the Opposition MPs rounded up by the police during Tuesday’s protest and alleged that he was roughed up.

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There has been some unease within the TMC as well over the form of Tuesday’s protest. According to a TMC MP, some of the party’s senior MPs were reluctant to participate in Rahul Gandhi’s sit-in and felt that the demand for a meeting with the CEC was misplaced. They eventually joined after TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee insisted that they participate.

For the Congress, the challenge is therefore not simply to lead the parliamentary Opposition but to accommodate parties whose organisational networks provide much of the mobilisation outside Parliament.