Fireworks expected at CPI(M) state committee meet

The two-day state committee meeting of the CPI(M), scheduled to held on June 11 and 12 is likely to 

be stormy. Party insiders said that members who had criticized the proposal for an alliance with Congress and had raised their voice against the move had to finally give up following pressure from the protagonists of the tie up.

But the poll debacle, coupled with the statement issued by the politburo on Monday admitting that the electoral strategy in West Bengal “was not in consonance with the party’s central committee 

decision” have given the leaders an impetus.

Bidyut Majumdar, representing Howrah district, Bonani Biswas and Niranjan Chatterjee of Kolkata district committee of the party had criticised the proposal for alliance with Congress in the state committee meeting held in February. They had categorically stated that people would not accept the alliance and there would not be vote transfer. Interestingly, what they had predicted came true.

It may be recalled that during the party’s plenum held in the city in January, three CPI(M) leaders, Suryakanta Misra, Mohammad Selim and Gautam Deb had pleaded strongly to have an alliance with “secular and democratic forces.”

Despite many central committee leaders refusing the proposal, the party went ahead with the move and formed an unofficial alliance with Congress, after getting support from party’s general secretary Sitaram Yehchury.

Misra said the party would get around 200 seats. Party MP Ritabrata Bhattacharya had said on May 17, just 48 hours ahead of the election results, during a panel discussion in a vernacular news channel that “coming to power by the alliance is just a matter of time.”

On the day of the results, however, the CPI(M)-Congress alliance won 76 seats and CPI(M) managed to bag only 26 seats. Party insiders said that those who had pushed for the alliance were left with no place to hide their faces. The statement of the politburo has added fuel to the fire.

The three-day central committee meeting from June 18 to 20 is likely to witness severe criticism of the state leaders by the Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, lobby owing allegiance to Prakash Karat. 

Senior CPI(M) leaders Hannan Molla and Manick Sarkar are likely to criticize the comrades from the state. 

Political analysts said the decision of the central committee was very important and they could even censure Misra and Yechury.