A new controversy erupted on the eve of the Nilambur Assembly byelection on Wednesday over an alliance between the CPI(M) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the late 1970s.
An alleged revelation by CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan during a media interview about the alliance put the LDF on the defensive with the rival United Democratic Front (UDF) seizing the opportunity to capitalise on the dispute.
The volatile political rivalry between the UDF and LDF turned more intense on the election eve when both sides sharpened their accusations over allying with communal forces.
Former BJP president K. Raman Pillai validated Mr. Govindan’s statement that the CPI(M) had contested the 1977 election with the support of the RSS. Mr. Pillai told a TV channel that the CPI(M) had gleefully accepted the RSS support in the wake of the Emergency.
The dispute put the LDF on the back foot in Nilambur at a time when it kept on attacking the UDF for taking the support of the Jamaat-e-Islami. In an attempt to turn the table, UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath said that there could be more such alliances during elections in future.
