If that was the first misreading by the comrades of the meaning of an electoral verdict in a “bourgeois” state, the second was the belief in the CPI(M) after its 1977 victory that even if the party could not launch a revolution, it could at least replicate the standard communist model of the party exercising total control over the government. If the Marxists had remained satisfied with this arrangement, which is also a feature of non-communist parties, vide the informal designation of the top Congress leadership as the “high command”, then the Left might not faced many of the subsequent problems.

But, the CPI(M)’s second mistake was that not only did Alimuddin Street, the party headquarters in Kolkata, dictate terms to Writers Building, but it gradually extended its stranglehold from the government to virtually all aspects of life – social, economic and educational. As a resident in Kolkata’s Ballygunge area at the time, this writer was surprised when a group of CPI(M) sympathizers turned up at the house to solicit a subscription. Not only had such a demand ever been made before by a political party, but they expressed their intention to collect such “donations” every month to establish closer relations, as they explained, between the party and the local residents.

It is another matter that they never turned up again. Ballygunge was probably too upmarket an area for the comrades to operate regularly with impunity. But, this practice of “closer relations” became common in the smaller towns and the countryside. What was more, few had the courage to refuse to subscribe because the collectors evidently did not belong to the well-behaved strata of society. But, it wasn’t only a question of the average person having to part with a nominal amount every month in what he undoubtedly began to look upon as an investment in personal and familial safety. I also remember the CPI(M)’s secretary in West Bengal, Promode Dasgupta, telling us reporters during the Durga puja celebrations that these would be stopped after a time.

What these two episodes underline is the CPI(M)’s belief that its electoral victory gave it the licence, first, to establish a firm grip on the populace through what can only be described as hafta payments, and, secondly, to alter the “bourgeois” system. Again, it is another matter that the pujas were not only not stopped, but grew exponentially in numbers and the range of decibels. But, what is worth noting is that it is precisely these misperceptions of its role in society which have been ultimately responsible for the Left’s downfall.

The factors which accelerated the slide were the uninhibited manner in which the Left turned the bureaucracy, the civic bodies, the educational and medical services and even local clubs into outposts of the various ruling parties – the CPI(M), the RSP, the Forward Bloc, the CPI and others in the Left Front. This practice of installing cadres in various institutions is now being ascribed to Leftist “arrogance” by some of the comrades themselves.

While the government’s prerogative in the matter of appointing officers of its choice in the police and the administration is understandable, the fact that even teachers from the schools to prestigious institutions like Presidency College and the various medical colleges had to have the stamp of approval of the various parties, and especially the CPI(M)’s, meant the end of professionalism in not only the public services, but in virtually all other sectors.

The consequent emasculation of the police, which emboldened the anti-socials acting in the name of the ruling parties, was seen at its worst in Nandigram, where the Marxist militia “invaded” the village while the guardians of law and order looked on. It is mistakes such as these which paved the way for Mamata Banerjee’s success, which is based on the roughly 40 per cent of votes which has always been with the non-communist parties. The Left was delighted when this bulk vote was divided on a 25:15 basis when the Trinamool Congress, with the larger share, broke away from the Congress. But, now, the split has not only been rectified, but the vote share has been enhanced by the addition of other non-Left Front contributions, such as those from the Left-wing Socialist Unity Centre.

Even as Mamata took advantage of the CPI(M)’s mistakes, the latter suffered from the departure of widely respected leaders like Promode Dasgupta, Harekrishna Konar, Benoy Chaudhuri and, finally, Jyoti Basu. Hence, its present Dushsamay or bad times, which Buddhadev Bhattacharjee had foreseen in his play of this name in the early 1990s when he resigned from Jyoti Basu’s cabinet. (IPA Service)