However, it will also appeal to the Congress to join its proposed larger combination with parties like the JD(U), the RJD and the NCP, on an issue-to-issue basis.

LF Chairman Biman Basure affirmed the CPI(M)’s commitment to its allies at an acrimonious LF meeting recently. CPI, FB and RSP leaders sharply attacked their larger LF partner for allegedly forcing an unnatural alliance with the Congress for the 2016 state Assembly polls. The somewhat hastily crafted new arrangement, they said, neither inspired the opposition, nor met even minimum expectations of the people.

For the record, the LF/Congress combination (‘jot’ - in local parlance) won only 76 seats out of 294 seats, while the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 211. To add insult to injury, the Congress improved its position from 2011, winning 44 seats out of 76, while the once mighty LF won only 32!

On behalf of the allies, leaders including Mr Manjukumar Majumdar (CPI), Mr Hafiz A Sairani (FB) and Mr Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP) accused the CPI(M), by virtue of its superior strength within the LF, of railroading the smaller parties into an unworkable alliance with their former enemy the Congress. There was neither any common programme, nor even a minimal congruence of political objectives between the Left parties and the Congress. The CPI(M) had tied itself into knots describing the jot at different times as an ‘alliance’, a ‘seat sharing arrangement’, and a ‘combination’, worked out only to ‘save democracy itself in West Bengal’. The present situation was compared to the Emergency in 1975-76.

The electorate, said these leaders, felt that the coming together of the Congress and the LF was rank opportunism and had reacted accordingly. To accommodate the Congress’s demands, the interest of the allies had been abandoned in many areas, leading dissensions within the anti-TMC campaign.

Now that the damage had been done, the CPI(M) must clarify whether it still proposed to work together with the Congress on various issues.

Mr Bose remained a listener for the most part. It needs pointing out that he had never supported the idea of going along with the Congress within the CPIM), but reluctantly fell in line with majority opinion within the state party, which favoured such a move. Dr Suryakanta Mishra, State Secretary, Mohammad Salim, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and others also favoured the idea of fighting the polls in an understanding with the Congress.

However, the miserable show put up by the Left only sharpened the inner party struggle with the CPI(M) and knives were out against Dr MIshra, Mr Salim and others.

Mr Bose on his part put up a half-hearted defence of his party within the LF, wondering why the allies had not reacted more strongly on the question of an alignment with the Congress earlier. He was informed that the allies did not want to rock the boat too hard prior to the polls, but there had hardly been any effective joint campaigning, except in certain pockets. The ruling TMC had cashed in on this.

Bose then concluded the LF meeting announcing that the CPIM) would as before launch programmes and agitations with the allies in the state, without inviting the Congress. But he also stopped short of saying that the understanding between the CPI(M) and the Congress was off.

When the CPIM) State Committee met after LF discussions were over, different opinions were heard. Dr MIshra strongly defended the party’s decision to align with the Congress, saying that the Left would have suffered far more if it had fought its anti-TMC battle alone. He pointed out that the Left parties had won more votes in 169 out of 294 seats in 2016, than they did in 2011. Also, the combination had won 2.15 crore votes altogether, as against 2.45 crore votes for the TMC, a difference of only 30,00,000 votes. The winning margins of the TMC candidates almost uniformly had been reduced all over the state.

Mishra’s argument was that the arrangement between the Congress and the Left must continue. It had emboldened supporters of both the Congress and the Left to campaign together fearlessly in many areas, despite the terror unleashed by the ruling TMC. Attacked by leaders from Burdwan and other districts for having gone beyond the party line, which favoured maintaining an equidistance from the Congress and the BJP, members pointed out that by following the party line in toto, the Tamil Nadu unit of the CPI(M) had won only 0.4% of the aggregate votes. A mechanical adherence to and a mindless application of the party’s programmes would reduce the CPIM) to a signboard all over India.

There was also criticism of the allies’ recent as well as past behaviour. The RSP in Kerala had seen nothing wrong in going against the LDF there. The CPI had supported the 1996 Central Ministry under Mr Deve Gowda, while other Left parties extended outside support. Mr Indrajit Gupta was the Union Home Minister. The CPI had also supported the Emergency. In 1971, the CPI and FB supported the Ajoy Mukherjee-headed Bangla Congress Ministry, while the CPI(M) stood against it. The FB had once fought assembly elections alone losing all its seats. The RSP had attended Assembly sessions between 1972-77, while the CPIM) had gone on a total boycott of proceedings.

A review of these developments emboldened Dr Mishra to announce that while the LF would continue its programmes with its allies as before. It would also pursue efforts to fight the BJP Government at the centre with like-minded regional parties and even the Congress, minus the TMC.

This, the majority of State committee members felt, was not only consistent with the party’s national line, but also fully consistent with the CPI(M)’s slogan of fighting against both the TMC in Bengal and the BJP at the centre.

However, it seems as though the debate within the left over the alignment with the Congress would continue for some time more. Meanwhile there has been co-operation and consultation between the Congress and the Left parties during the recently concluded state Assembly session. (IPA Service)