A Marxist can rely on a centrist bourgeoise party but it is beyond comprehension that it should join the ranks of the rightist party. Actually this has happened not on a foreign soil but in our own West Bengal. The Marxists have resorted to this strategy for weakening Mamata Banerjee and her Trinmool Congress. It is a known fact TMC does not have any ideology or ideological commitment. It is like any other centrist party with a secular approach.

But for the Marxists the compulsion has been so acute that taking recourse to the Marxism directed its cadres to become a member of the BJP. It was done under any class pressure instead it was a mechanism to get police and administrative protection from the BJP.

CPM leader and its candidate from Bankura Amiya Patra insists the desertions from the party are “temporary”. “The Trinamool has carried out atrocities against Left workers and slapped false charges against them. They have chosen to join the BJP to save their lives for now. They will cme back when the situation changes.” This is indeed a preposterous clarification. In fact the first move in this direction was initiated in 2013. Thousands of CPI(M) cadres joined BJP citing this alibi.

Since then this has become a continuous process. The CPI(M) cadres, mostly Muslims have crossed over to the BJP. This has been the predominant feature in north Bengal. IN this election this phenomenon was also witnessed in some parts of south Bengal.

What has really come as shocking is the clarification of the “converted” Marxists; “Hindus are supporting the BJP because of Mamata’s policy to appease the Muslims. TMC leaders are reluctant to protect the interests of Hindus. Last month, Muslims planned a jalsha in Sangur village in Pratapnagar.” They feel aggrieved at police helping.

Surprising how could a Marxist who has been indoctrinated and claims to practice Marxism can cite this to justify his action of embracing Hindutva. What has been most disastrous for the CPI(M) is it has not only been losing election but its support base. Mamata’s wooing of the state’s 27% Muslim population was cited as a reason by Hindu voters for consolidating behind the BJP. This is simply a ploy to conceal its failure. CPI(M) must accept the fact that it has failed to indoctrinate the rank and file. Simply chanting Inqalab-Zindabad is not the certificate of being a true Marxist. While the Congress’s vote share fell from 9.58% in 2014 to 5.61%, the Left’s plunged from 34% to 7.46%.

But it’s not just its leaders that the Trinamool has been losing, it’s also voters all across the state. Most of the senior CPM cadres who used to do the booth management for the Marxists were this time designated as poll managers by the BJP.

The cadres and a section of leaders those who don’t subscribe to the “escapist” line of the party emphasise that the leadership never took seriously the BJP threat. A senior leader rejected this approach as defeatist move. He asked whether theses leaders could give an undertaking all the members who joined BJP out of fear, that theses cadres come back to the party once Mamata loses power?

This move of the leadership makes it clear that the Left Front and CPI(M) do not have a strategy. They are hurt, “the leadership did not monitor the activities of the RSS outfits over the years, as they did not treat the BJP or the RSS as a threat.”

The organisation has only been growing. Four years back the Bajrang Dal Youth wing of the VHP had 5,000 members now it has 70,000. One thing is absolutely clear that the twin index of fascism, ultra-nationalism and religion, have started getting enormous support in a state which is described as the birth place of Marxism.

Shift of the leftist vote to the BJP has been a known fact. Internal survey reports and feedback of Mamata Banerjee’s party suggest that the Left’s vote — as much as 30% in the 2014 general election — is shifting to BJP as it is being recognized as a key challenger to the ruling Trinamool. While the BJP has been consolidating the non-Bengali votes, it has been also nurturing the Muslim cadres and supporters belonging to the CPI(M). In districts across the state Left supporters, specifically CPI(M) cadres were seen marching with saffron flags, and chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” alongside BJP candidates.

This would prove to be counter productive was pointed out even by the party stalwart and former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee . He warned the people of West Bengal, “There is no use in leaping from a TMC frying pan into the BJP’s fireplace.” He described BJP’s rise in the state as a “danger” and said, “In some places, the danger is already present. Our task is to bring back the people from this self-destruct mode.” Like the past historical blunder, this time too the CPI(M) committed blunder in identifying the main enemy.(IPA Service)