Left Front in a fix over framing main slogan for elections

At a time when talks are on between the CPI(M) and the Congress to resolve the seat sharing issue, the real problem faced by the Left parties is the key slogan which the workers will shout at political meetings and rallies to defeat the Trinamool Congress in the forthcoming Assembly polls.

The CPI(M) for 34 years had raised slogans criticising the Congress particularly Indira Gandhi for her emergency and held her responsible for killing around 55,000 party workers between 1972-77. 

But as the Congress is the CPI(M) partner this time, the later cannot raise slogans against the Congress and can no more call Siddhartha Shankar Roy, the then Chief Minister, a murderer. Both the parties used to spread canard against each other. The CPI(M) had called Indira Gandhi a “ witch” and Rajiv Gandhi “a thief”. 

“But those are forgotten and now the alliance is a necessity,” said a CPI(M) leader.

The CPI(M)’s main agenda is the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. They have held the Trinamool Congress responsible for crime like rape and murder. The CPI(M) held the party responsible in Kamduni incident, where a college girl was raped and subsequently murdered. Two people were arrested in this connection and they were awarded capital punishment.

Senior Left Front leaders said the slogan on deteriorating law and order situation would not go well in the rural belt where in the past four-and-a-half-year criminal activities had undoubtedly gone down. 

For example in Junglemahal, local people had witnessed killing of cops by the Maoists almost every day. After coming to power, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited the area quite a number of times and the situation has improved. Now, if the CPI(M) and the Congress raise slogans about deteriorating law and order situation in Junglemahal, it would be counterproductive, some leaders of Front partners felt.

Even leaders of the Opposition parties except the CPI(M) believed that major development work had been carried out in West Bengal during the Trinamool Congress’ regime. Rural roads have been improved and the problem of drinking water has been ironed out in many areas. Also, in power sector, the state government has worked fine and most of the villages have got electricity.

The leaders are also worried as they felt that a sizable per cent vote of the Congress would not come to the Left Front ballot. 

The Congress and the CPI(M) are arch rivals and whatever may the leaders have said from the point of view of voters, it was difficult for a Congress voter to accept a CPI(M) candidate and vice versa.

They said corruption charges against Banerjee were not tenable as this would create a bad repercussion among the voters.