ABSTRACT
Congress ministries, parliamentarianism and reformism remained crucial to an alliance between socialists and communists. Both parties attempted to expose ministry misdeeds. Asoka Mehta declared a conclusion to the controversy about unity that raged on the pages of Congress Socialist, Masani's presidential address at the annual Congress Socialist Party (CSP) conference at Lahore in April 1938 resurrected it. Despite conflict, the Lahore conference denoted an accommodation between CSP and Communist Party of India (CPI) leaders. Socialists and communists found common ground when criticizing the conduct of Congress ministries, those paragons of constitutionalism and bourgeois compromise. However, the two groups approached the common topic from conflicting perspectives, undermining the effectiveness of their fighting alliance. Subhas Chandra Bose's presidential address at the Tripuri Congress afforded an opportunity to outline a united front agenda. He indicated that the international situation and the threat of a European war afforded a golden opportunity for the Congress to challenge British imperialism.
