CPI(M) has made a historical blunder for the fourth time by not allowing Sitaram Yehchury to contest in the Rajya Sabha election, Adhir Chowdhury, president, West Bengal Pradesh Congress said on Sunday.
It may be recalled that CPI(M) politburo did not allow Jyoti Basu to become the Prime minister in the early 1990s and he had described the mistake as a "historical blunder."
Congress had agreed to support Sitaram Yehchury in the forthcoming Rajya Sabha election in accordance with the alliance between the two parties which was formed before the 2016 Assembly elections. But the Central Committee meeting held in New Delhi last week stated that Yehchury will not contest in the election for the third time. Also, the party reiterated its earlier stand that there will not be any alliance with Congress. Trinamool Congress decided to support Congress candidate Pradip Bhattacharya.
CPI(M) has fielded Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, former Mayor as its candidate. The controversy over his nomination will be settled on Monday. The returning officer had sent all the papers to Election Commission as he had submitted them at 3.02 pm, just two minutes after the stipulated time. The papers will be scrutinised on Monday.
Political experts said knowing well that Bhattacharya had no chance in winning the poll, state CPI(M) has fielded him just to defy Prakash Karat. It was Karat and his wife Brinda who had opposed the alliance with Congress in the Assembly election in 2016. Politburo had then issued a statement calling the alliance "not in consonance with the Central Committee's decision." Political experts said in the recently held Central Committee meeting, leaders from Bengal who were supporting Yehchury's candidature had been cornered, Bengal leaders fielded Bhattacharya just to defy the Karat lobby.
CPI(M) Central Committee member Gautam Deb also criticised the Karat lobby and said they should have understood the ground reality and fielded Yehchury. CPI(M) will not have any presence in the Rajya Sabha from Bengal during 2016-22. Tapan Sen's term will end in 2018 and Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay's term will come to an end in 2020.