The statement was issued at the end of a two-day meet of the party’s highest policy-making body and it read, “with regard to the electoral tactics pursued by the CPI(M) in various states, the electoral tactics evolved in West Bengal was not in consonance with the Central Committee decision based on the political- tactical line of the party which states that there shall be no alliance or understanding with the Congress party.” This statement comes on a day when the leaders of Congress and CPI(M) announced continuance of the ‘people’s alliance’ in the state.
The politburo will again meet on 17 June followed by a three day meeting of the Central Committee on June 18 to 20. The politburo came down heavily on the Bengal leaders for the poll debacle as the CPI(M) bagged only 26 seats, despite the state leaders calling the alliance with Congress, the ‘need of the hour’ and describing it as a ‘people’s alliance’ during the party’s plenum in January. Earlier, in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, CPI(M)was relegated to two seats from the state.
To save the state leadership from the wrath of Politburo members, stories of party workers being attacked by TMC workers have successfully been circulated. Sitaram Yechury, being a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal and a supporter of the alliance, also raised his voice against violence by TMC workers, to save himself from the volley of criticism from the Prakash Karat lobby.
The politburo statement read “many CPI(M) workers have been murdered and over 600 CPI(M) and mass organization offices ransacked and some set ablaze,” adding that, “the attacks specifically focus on constituencies and areas where Trinamool Congress lost.” The party called upon the people of the state “to unitedly resist the murder of democracy and civil liberties in the state.”
However, the statement could not specify the number of CPI(M) workers killed. So far 19, TMC supporters have been murdered. It may be recalled the alliance had lodged 30,000 complaints with the Election Commission during the elections. However, 20,000 of them were found to be false.