The mega rally of CPI(M)’s frontal organisations at the Brigade Parade Grounds, in Kolkata on Sunday won the support of the Congress, and Indian Secular Front (ISF) parties.
Emphasising on the Left’s secular credentials, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stated that the party “doesn’t do communal politics.”
“The Left is a secular force in India. In such a situation, may their brigade rally (Brigade 2025) be successful,” he said, adding, “We may have many differences with them in terms of politics and ideology. I fought against the Left. I still have the bullet scars on my chest. I served jail fighting with them. But I must also say, they don’t do politics with religion. I want this rally to be successful because they don’t do communal politics.”
ISF MLA, Naushad Siddique, also voiced his backing for the Left’s mobilisation. “This brigade is of hard working people and they are fighters so I wish great success,” he declared.
The rally, however, drew sharp criticism from other political factions. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh dismissed the rally’s significance, alleging that many attendees were BJP voters. “I repeat, those who went to CPM brigade, 99% of them have voted for the BJP and are doing so. It is not a big deal that a few people show up at the meeting, they are the ones who go back and vote for the BJP. This has been proven by the vote count several times before,” Ghosh said.
Targetting CPIM leader Mohammad Salim, Suvendu Adhikari said, “He is a communal person himself. He lost thrice in Vote: in 2019 Raiganj, in 2021 Chanditala and in 2024 Murshidabad. As many times he will contest he will only loose. He is Mamata’s agent and is talking big in Brigade.”
