Left party trade unions differ with leadership of CPI and CPM

ADILABAD: The members and leaders of the AITUC are not in favor of an alliance with the pro-TRS union, the TBGKS, in the elections for the ‘recognised trade union’ in SCCL. Reports are also that coal mine workers are losing their faith in the leftist unions.

The CPI  top leadership is not coming out openly in favour of an alliance with the TBGKS in the upcoming elections in the SCCL or in continuing with the Munugode poll alliance between the left parties and the TRS.

AITUC secretary Vasireddy Seetharamaiah is not in favor of an alliance with TBGKS in the trade union elections. The CITU of the CPIM will not have much impact on the elections. The INTUC will contest independently without depending on the left parties.    

News is making rounds that top leaders of the CPI are setting the agendas for the party to promote their own personal and political interests and such moves may prove disastrous for the party in the long run.

A senior AITUC leader of Mancherial said the leaders and also the cadre of the extreme left, Congress, and TDP who had closely associated with the TRS during the Telangana agitation and JAC activities later joined the TRS. The Telagnana agitation also caused an ideological dilution to the left in the state.

The left parties are gradually losing their base due to many reasons in North Telangana. However, they have a noticeable presence at the trade union level -- the AITUC in the SCCL and the CITU in some segments.

Speculations are that chief minister and TRS president Chandrasekhar Rao may convince the left party leadership to support the TBGKS or have an alliance in the recognized trade union elections in SCCL and, to facilitate this, may offer sharing of power between the TRS and the left parties in future.

The recognised trade union elections in SCCL are important for the BJP, Congress and TRS also as assembly elections are around the corner. Notably, the BJP and its frontal organisations such as BMS are making inroads into the coal belt area, which was once a stronghold of the extreme left.

Singareni worker K Rajanna of Godavarikhani said workers have started moving from the left trade unions (AITUC and CITU) after their parties extended support to the TRS in the Munugode assembly by-election.

He said there was a chance of the coal mines workers extending their support directly to TBGKS without entertaining the left trade unions and without bothering about the alliance between the left trade unions and TBGKS.