Karat not happy over Cong, CPI(M) hobnobbing in Bengal

A letter from CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat to CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yehchuri asking why the party leaders are hobnobbing with their counterparts Congress in West Bengal has created a flutter among the leaders and workers before the elections.

Though CPI(M) leaders have decided not to say anything on the matter, leaders of the Left Front partners said it would give a wrong message to the people about the alliance before the elections.

From the beginning, the Central Committee leadership had said that there was no alliance with the Congress and also there would not be any seat sharing. The party had called all secular and democratic forces to be united to oust the Trinamool Congress.

Going two steps forward, some CPI(M) leaders interpreted this as alliance with the Congress and started taking part in joint meeting. In many walls graffiti, star and sickle of the CPI(M) and hand of the Congress are found to coexist. Congress leaders even went to Alimuddin Street to resolve the impasse that had cropped over seat adjustment. Though many CPI(M) and Left Front leaders did not like it, the matter was not raised.

The situation went out of control when Manas Bhuniya in a public meeting said that if voted to power Surya Kanta Misra would be the Chief Minister. Photos appeared in newspapers that Bhuniya was walking with Misra, a politburo member of CPI(M). Misra had addressed a rally in Sabang, Bhuniya’s constituency, and Bhuniya is scheduled to address a meeting in Narayangarh, which is Misra’s constituency.

In this backdrop, Karat’s letter is significant as the Central leadership is getting a hunch that it would be difficult to oust the TMC though seats might go down. Also, they have got the information that rank and file of both the parties and common people are against the alliance.

The Central leadership think that the party’s poll prospect in Kerela might be affected due to hobnobbing of CPI(M) and Congress leaders as in social media, pictures of Misra and Bhuniya holding each other’s hand had been posted and comments have also appeared.

However, the Kerala lobby of Central Committee is not at all happy with the state unit and it is to be seen which leaders will share the dais with Sonia Gandhi at Sujapur in Malda.