'Left is the new untouchable in Indian politics'

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The Left Front has finally delivered its threat and withdrawn support to the Congress-led UPA Government. The Government is in minority in Parliament now but many political analysts say the Left going is a blessing in disguise. The Government can now carry on with the Indo-US nuclear deal and economic reforms, the say. Is the Government better off without its Left partners? IBNLive readers asked Diptosh Majumdar, CNN-IBN's National Affairs Editor, in a web chat. (Excerpts from the chat on July 10, 2008)

Mahesh: If the Left is allergic to US couldn’t they have insisted that after IAEA and NSG we don’t deal with US and instead buy tech from Russia/ France?

Diptosh Majumdar: That was a suggestion given in some quarters but I do believe that the Americans do want this market and will not hand it over easily to other equally keen players.

Mani: Is the attitude of Prakash Karat nothing but arrogance and immaturity?

Diptosh Majumdar: I cannot describe Prakash Karat's way of going about his politics extremely wise. Let's leave it at that. Mr Karat is a remarkably honest man, who works with huge commitment and belief but he must realise that ideologies are never cast in stone. Their application is to be guided by pragmatism.

Sundarji: The Left has been very unreasonable. Don't you think that they need to be taught a lesson? I feel Prakash Karat is unable to swallow that Dr Manmohan Singh is standing up to him firm and equally on all fronts intellectual and subject wise.

Diptosh Majumdar: I am also surprised that Dr Manmohan Singh has turned out to be such a smart tactician. He has outwitted not just Left adversaries but even us the tribe of journalists who thought that he would never be able to push through this deal. He has proved to quite a tough politician. We had all assumed that he would never graduate to become a politician.

Gundurat: Is the Left more sinned than sinned against?

Diptosh Majumdar: The Left is sometimes misunderstood because of the manner in which they go about things. We must realise the sea change in Indian polity. It was the educated middle-class who voted for the Left earlier but now the Left has long lost that support base. The middle class has moved on and become bourgeois and corporate. The Left's new voters are mostly in the countryside. In Kerala you cannot really distinguish between the city and countryside but in West Bengal, Kolkata rarely votes for the Left. If they won all the Calcutta parliamentary seats last time it was because Trinamool and Congress cancelled each other’s votes out.

R Sundaram: I feel that this is a good moment in country's politics when the Left can be left behind and the government of the day can really concentrate on the welfare of the downtrodden. Do you agree?

Diptosh Majumdar: The Left has been left behind. I have spoken to a number of parties. Some of them like the UPA allies RJD, NCP and DMK say the Left are good people but all of them would rather do business with a pliant Congress than a rigid Left. So, in a way, the Left is the new untouchable in Indian politics. In a way, it's sad because every country needs a bit of the Left—not too much may be but quite a bit definitely.

Dheerendra R: Do you agree with my view that this whole free hand given to the PM by Sonia Gandhi is a master strategy to ensure that post 2009 general election, if at all there is any chance of Congress forming Government with the Left, then Manmohan would not become the PM. This means that either Sonia herself or Rahul can be made PM, without losing the goodwill generated by Manmohan?

Diptosh Majumdar: Sonia is cleverer than that. I don't expect Rahul Gandhi to be pushed to the throne before 2011 at least even if the Congress somehow makes it to the Delhi masnad again.