Surya Kanta tries to defend failed alliance, dismisses detractors as ‘factionalists’

In a desperate bid to justify the ‘unauthorized’ alliance with Congress, CPI(M) leaders are terming those who are opposing the move as ‘factionalists’. Party insiders said that for the first time in the history of the party, the rank and file had come to Alimuddin Street to submit letters seeking an explanation from the state secretary Surya Kanta Misra.

Some of them met him Monday morning, seeking an explanation. Misra told them that this was not “the culture of CPI(M) and the letters will have to be routed through zonal and district committees.”

It may be recalled that former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had told some comrades – who had demonstrated against the alliance in February – to go back home as it was against the culture of the party.

The resentment of party workers demolished the tall claims of the advocates of the alliance like Misra, Mohammad Selim and Gautam Deb that the tie up with Congress was a “people’s alliance.” In the state committee meeting held in February, leaders like Bidyut Majumdar, Niranjan Chatterjee and Bonani Biswas had criticized the alliance.

Apprehensive of the stiff opposition from critics of the alliance in the two-day state committee meeting scheduled to be held on June 11 and 12, Misra and his associates have termed those who have raised their voice as “factional forces”.

CPI(M) won only 26 seats in the Assembly election, an all-time low since 1972 when the party had bagged just 14 seats. The party’s central committee meeting will be held from June 18 to 20, where state leaders are likely to be reprimanded. The poor performance of CPI(M) has exposed the weakness of the alliance advocates and forced them to assess the situation. Even before the results, party leaders had said that the alliance would come to power. 

However, they were proved wrong and the advocates of alliance blamed the district committees for their failure to take stock of the situation properly.