Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of the Communist Party of India [Marxist-Leninist] seems to be the newest friend, philosopher, guide of Rahul Gandhi filling the void left behind by the late Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Throughout 2014-2024, Rahul looked up to Yechury as a political ideologue and a theoretician, sharing a relationship marked by mutual respect, often to the chagrin of his own party leaders.
Post the Bihar debacle, Dipankar has been seen and heard providing comfort to Rahul, suggesting that the outcome had little to do with the Mahagathbandan's weakness.
The Meeting About Bihar
Just recently, Dipankar's 25, Meena Bagh residence saw All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Krishna Allavaru walking in. The two leaders then went towards 10, Janpath via Maulana Azad Road, about 500 metres away, where Rahul Gandhi was waiting for them. For the next couple of hours, the Bihar poll outcome was dissected. Dipankar was convinced that the result had little to do with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's popularity or the generous doles given out to women voters. Phrases like "unnatural result", "special intensive revision [SIR] being superfluous" were mentioned. The statistician-turned-political theoretician he is, Dipankar convinced Rahul that the poll outcome was not a crisis of opposition but a threat to democracy. Rahul, too, kept harping on how some influential figures in the United States of America had hinted at "something" going on with elections.
Another interesting reference was reportedly about a high constitutional functionary sending feelers to the Leader of Opposition, stating that he had great regards for the principal opposition party. The functionary is said to have pointed out that he had worked closely with senior Congress leader PJ Kurian and had no 'bias' towards the Congress or the leader of the opposition. The overture is said to have resulted in derisiveness, scorn and threat of punitive action whenever the Congress gets voted to power.
Bhattacharya's Role In Bihar Poll Strategy
Dipankar's influence on Rahul Gandhi was visible throughout the Bihar electoral campaign. The CPI-ML leader was seen holding hands with him, acting as a peacemaker, dealmaker and strategist, all rolled into one. He had famously browbeat Mukesh Sahni of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) into giving a written undertaking to Rahul, saying "main Kahin Nahin jaa raha hoon" (I'm not going anywhere). Dipanakar was also instrumental in making the Mahagathbandan issue a public statement saying that Sahni would be crowned as the Deputy Chief Minister if the grand alliance came to power.
Both Congress and CPI(M) insiders are bewildered at Dipankar's proximity and influence over Rahul. According to party leaders, Rahul's economic and political leanings are deeply influenced by Left-of-Centre thought, often colouring his judgment and putting party leaders at odds with him. In 2010, Rahul spoke to the Cambridge campus paper Varsity, describing himself as an 'economist'. Interviewers Merrow Golden and Ashleigh Lamming were quoted by his biographer, Aarthi Ramachandran, as saying, "He [Rahul] tended to talk about things using economic language; he talked about affirmative action as being a problem of 'supply and demand', and...talked about teachers no longer having a 'monopoly' over information, but being one of the many sources of it." During the interview, Rahul, who has an M. Phil in developmental economics, said he disagreed with a lot of what was taught at Cambridge. "I am a lot less left-wing now than I was, for one thing."
Rahul's left leanings have been often attributed to his close advisors too. But the impracticality of his vision is evident from the CPI(M)'s 23rd Party Congress at Kannur in Kerala. There, the party had observed, "The political influence and organisational strength of Congress has been declining and the 'weakened' party is unable to rally all the secular opposition parties."
Eye On Bengal
Dipankar's CPI-ML has several ideological and tactical differences with both the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the CPI(M). A major point of contention, for instance, has been about defining the threat from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government. While Dipankar argues that the Modi government and the RSS agenda display "neo-fascist characteristics", the CPI(M) party note tempers the fascist danger, clarifying that while the government exhibits "neo-fascist characteristics", fascism in India is only a tendency, not yet fully entrenched. Dipankar has often criticised this stance as potentially eroding the morale and clarity of the Communist movement.
Interestingly, Dipankar has an open mind towards Congress supporting Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress against the BJP in the upcoming West Bengal elections, a proposition that may be anathema for both the CPI(M) and the Congress. The million-dollar question doing the rounds at Indira Bhawan and 24, Akbar Road New Delhi, is whether Dipankar would be able to prevail upon Rahul to develop a more 'pragmatic' view towards the upcoming West Bengal polls than to go ahead with a CPI(M)-Congress alliance, something that impacts the United Democratic Front's (UDF) prospects in Kerala too.
(Rasheed Kidwai is an author, columnist and conversation curator)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
