Is AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy influencing the Left parties through the backdoor? Is he using the caste card to corner the Left leaders who are critical of the YSRCP government? What’s behind a section of the party calling Chandrababu a lackey of the corporates at a time when he is not in the government?

The CPI state council held on Sunday at Vijayawada was a stormy affair. A section of the party have strongly criticised state secretary K Ramakrishna for “targeting” YSRCP and YS Jagan. They said that the continuous criticism of YS Jagan was actually painting the party as pro-Chandrababu. “Why should we look pro-Chandrababu Naidu, who is seen as a friend of the corporate,” asked several leaders belonging to a particular social group.

This group reportedly said that Jagan’s welfare schemes were actually proving beneficial to the weaker sections. They suggested that the party maintain equal distance between both the TDP and the YSRCP. This section said that the CPM was being seen as pro-Chandrababu. They said personal attack on YS Jagan was one thing and criticising his policies was another. Interestingly, the CPI leaders wanted Ramakrishna to take a leaf out of CPM, which was adopting a more ‘nuanced’ approach.

Ramakrishna tried to explain that he was working as per the guidance of the party and that Jagan was not his personal enemy. Even Narayana, the national leader of the party, tried to defend Ramakrishna. But the vocal section did not relent. The attack appeared concerted and well-planned.