This could be one reason the Congress' favourite Communist, Sitaram Yechury, began a fresh round of meetings with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today after Prakash Karat's rigid stand almost ended the channel of communication. Yechury met Mukherjee at the latter's residence in the evening to find a way out from the current standoff.
A top Left leader told Business Standard: "If elections are held now, we will suffer. We will lose a lot of seats, mainly in the urban areas." Similar apprehensions were raised at a meeting of the Left parties on Wednesday. The smaller parties in the Left Front, like the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Forward Bloc, suggested that without compromising the Left's stand on the nuclear deal, somehow elections should be avoided.
As the Left is facing counter pressure from the Congress, its internal disputes are slowly cropping up. A senior Left leader said, "We are missing Harkishen Singh Surjeet (former CPI(M) general secretary) now. He was a master in tackling such situations."
"The problem with Prakash Karat is", pointed out a senior leader, "that he has already played all his cards. He has toughened his stance so much that now it is very difficult for him to loosen up."
