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Bengal

Congress tie-up caused crisis within Left, says Misra

After essentially waging a war against the Politburo and Central Committee to justify the CPI(M)-Congress electoral alliance in the 2016 Assembly election, Surya Kanta Misra in an article recently admitted that there was uncertainty and confusion over the “sudden tie-up.”

In an article, published in the festival edition of the CPI(M) Bengali mouthpiece ‘Ganashakti’, captioned “Agniporikkhae uttirno hote pare amader party,” Misra remarked that there is no doubt that there was uncertainty and confusion over the sudden tie-up.

This has given a clear sign that Misra has finally admitted his mistake. His opponents had then pointed out that as the tie up was very hurriedly made, there was confusion among the voters and no attempt was taken by the party to clear their doubt.

Many people had asked Misra in Narayangarh, his Assembly constituency, why he was moving around with Congress workers, but he had no answer to offer.

Misra was defeated by his Trinamool Congress rival Prodyut Kumar Ghosh.

For long Misra had defended his stand and tried to justify that alliance with Congress, despite the Politburo’s statement that the alliance was “not in consonance with the Central Committee’s decision.”

The Central Committee in Visakhapatnam had categorically stated that it would maintain equal distance with both the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party.

At a meeting held in Singur on January 16, former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee first spoke about the alliance with Congress to oust TMC. The CPI(M) took out a week-long march which ended at Salboni to highlight the failure of the state government in the industrial sector. Misra and some other leaders had supported Bhattacharjee.

From February, meetings were held between Misra and his lobby with Abdul Mannan and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The result of the tie-up in the Assembly election, however, was disastrous. The CPI(M) bagged 26 seats while seats won by RSP, Forward Bloc and CPI candidates were three, two and one, respectively. The Congress, however, got 44 seats.

The situation worsened after one CPI(M) MLA and five Congress MLAs – including Manas Bhunia – joined Trinamool.

Misra, in his article, admitted that organisational weakness was the main cause of concern. He held the “routine and stereotype functioning of the party” responsible for the failure to develop mass contact and suggested that idle workforce should be identified and dropped.

“The loopholes of the party will be rectified and people will have to be informed about them. The rectification should start from the top. Ideology, politics, movement and organisation will have to be practiced both inside and outside,” he maintained, adding as there is little introspection in the party and members often surrender to greed and a safe and easy life. He concluded his article by saying that only a Communist party can overcome this crisis.
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