CPI(M) All India General Secretary MA Baby reminded CM Banerjee that it was her Trinamool Congress that was earlier part of the BJP-led government led by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
Claiming a growing affinity between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party is “ironic”, especially from someone who served in the BJP government, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said on Friday (27 Feb 2026), contradicting recent remarks by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Mr. Baby was addressing a press conference at the party’s Delhi headquarters AKG Bhawan.
Reacting to the Union Cabinet’s approval of the Kerala government’s proposal to change the state’s name from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’, Ms Banerjee said the move reflected the growing alliance between the BJP and the CPI(M). “The alliance is no longer unwritten after today,” she noted on Tuesday.
‘TMC, BJP both communal’
Mr Baby reminded Ms Banerjee that it was her Trinamool Congress (TMC) that was earlier part of the BJP-led government headed by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said the CPI(M) is contesting in West Bengal against both the “anti-women and anti-poor” TMC and the “communal” BJP. He accused the BJP of exacerbating communal divisions and alleged that even the TMC was promoting religious polarization in its bid to retain power.
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“Our comrades are fighting the RSS and the BJP in Kerala to stop their entry into the mainstream politics of Kerala,” Mr Baby said, adding that perhaps Ms Banerjee thinks the CPI(M) is also functioning as her party.
Reacting to reports that the Congress may sever ties with the Left in West Bengal, Mr. Baby said, “The parties coming to some understanding is based on the willingness of both.” Whether such a decision was good or bad will be judged only by the election result, he added. “We will definitely improve the electoral performance of the Left Front and the CPI(M). We are expanding the Left Front – for example, the CPI(ML) is becoming a part of the Left Alliance,” he noted.
In the Kerala Assembly polls, Mr. Baby emphasized that the Left parties never present a chief ministerial face, even as he clarified that the campaign will be led by incumbent Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Slams Modi visit to Israel
Mr. Baby also condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel. “His address to the Israeli parliament demonstrates the complete alignment of India’s foreign policy interests with Israel and the United States. This is a departure from India’s longstanding position of supporting the Palestinian cause and promoting the Palestinian right to statehood,” he said, calling the visit another example of India’s foreign policy alignment with Washington at the expense of India’s strategic interests.
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He announced that the CPI(M) would organize a mass rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on March 24 to protest against the announcement of labor laws, repeal of MGNREGA and enactment of VBGRAMG, electricity amendment, seeds laws and the Indo-US trade agreement.
Published – 27 Feb 2026 23:10 IST
