Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday wanted to know what is a ‘duet’ called in Malayalam. As soon as he got the right word, he put it into use. “The BJP and the CPM are singing a ‘yugma ganam’ in Kerala,” he kept saying when he met media at the District Congress Committee office in Kochi. In Kerala for election campaign, Khera, the chairman of the Media & Publicity Department of the All India Congress Committee, sought to amplify the state Congress’ allegation that there is a secret deal between the BJP and the Left in Kerala.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his central agencies have been going soft on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his daughter, despite corruption allegations against them, because of the secret pact.
Later in an interview with Onmanorama, Khera said there is no conflict of interest when it comes to the Congress attacking the CPM despite being part of the INDIA bloc of opposition parties elsewhere in the country. He also exuded confidence that the alliance will come to power with the public anger unseating PM Modi. Edited excerpts.
The Congress and the CPM are in alliance outside Kerala, but you attack each other so vehemently in the state. How do you manage this conflict of interest?
This has been the truth of the situation all through. We have been fighting the Left in Kerala not from today or yesterday but forever. But outside the state, we are in an alliance and there are no contradictions. There are different political dynamics and political realities in different states. So I don’t see any contradiction here.
The left front’s argument is that Rahul Gandhi should not have contested from Wayanad and instead he should take on the BJP directly in the latter’s stronghold.
Is Pinarayi Viayan contesting against Modi in Varanasi? (laughs).
Are you comparing the CPM of North India with INC?
No. We are fighting the BJP in the entire northern belt. The Congress party is fighting elections against Modi’s BJP in hundreds of seats. Is Vijayan doing it?
In case of the INDIA bloc coming to power, the MPs of the two parties will have to sit together.
Congress has a very rich experience and track record of running successful coalition governments, be it P V Narasimha Rao or Dr Manmohan Singh. The country has done well under these governments.
Is there still uncertainty about the INC candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareilly? Why is there a delay in announcing them?
Let the right time come. There is a process of ticket distribution and candidate selection in our party. That happens through the screening committee and the central election committee. Let the process take place and then decisions will be taken about the remaining seats.
You have seen many elections. What is your take on the matter? Do you think someone from Gandhi family or Rahul himself should fight from Amethi?
I’m not part of the screening committee or the central election committee. So I cannot comment on that. It’s for the leadership of the Congress to decide who contests from where.
First phase of elections takes place today. What is your assessment?
We are very upbeat. The mood of our workers on the ground has only improved day by day of the campaigning. Because we can see the anger amongst the people – the youth, the farmers and women. That gives us a lot of hope that the people have seen through what they have lost in the 10 years (of Modi rule).
There is an overwhelming narrative that this election is a done deal and Modi will retain power easily. How do you look at it?
No election is a done deal and this election in particular. I have seen the 2004 election when everybody, including me, thought it’s a done deal and Atal Bihari Vajpayee will retain power. And they lost, their slogan Indian Shining lost. This time, Viksit Bharat or whatever slogan they have made, it’s just a slogan.
What is your calculation about the seats INDIA will win?
We will comfortably form the next government. Modi’s BJP will not cross 200 seats. They will be much below that. And Congress and INDIA alliance will form the government.
What is the rationale behind the assessment?
The anger amongst the people, especially in the north. I have’nt travelled much in the south. I only came to Kerala and now I am going to Karnataka. I went to Telangana. There’s a seething anger among the people. They want to change the central government with their vote.
But the pre-poll surveys are predicting otherwise.
We all know how these surveys are done. I don’t want to comment on that. Yesterday, Pradeep Gupta, the main psephologist in the country tweeted something and he deleted it. We don’t know under whose pressure. But that tweet was very clear. His finding was that the BJP is finding it difficult in 13 states, and they are mostly northern states.
You recently said the doors are closed for Congress leaders who have joined BJP. Is that applicable to those from Kerala also, including the children of two former chief ministers?
How can somebody change their ideology to a complete opposite ideology. There are people like me who request the party leadership not to open doors to such people who have gone away to the ideology which is against the very essence of India.
In 2018, Congress formed government in three states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But when the Lok Sabha elections took place a year later, those states voted for BJP. Doesn’t it bother you?
The 2019 election was an emotional one. Pulwama happened and people were agitated with that. This election, people are angry about betrayal – youth, women, farmers, jawans and the middle class they all feel betrayed. Therefore this election will show you exactly the opposite results. In 2018 they voted for the Congress in states but voted against us in Lok Sabha polls. This time in state elections, they voted against the Congress in these three states but they will vote for the Congress in Lok Sabha.
What will happen in Karnataka, going by that logic? In state polls, you had a resounding victory there.
We are doing very well in Karnataka because the BJP stands completely exposed there. Their so-called tallest leaders stand exposed. And people are very happy with our guarantees and the way we have implemented them.
