CPM party memebrs to donate a day's income for election fund

KOLKATA: The West Bengal CPM leadership has asked party members to donate a day���s income to enrich the party���s election fund. The party has also suggested that members who are able to donate handsomely, should come forward to help the organisation meet election expenses.

The CPM has more than 3.15 lakh members in West Bengal and a rough estimate suggests that more than 45% belong to the farm sector. The rest is divided among industrial workers, teachers in schools, colleges and universities and workers engaged in the unorganised sector.

The CPM also has members among the 3.50 lakh state government employees. Government employees who are CPM cardholders would have to donate a day���s salary to the party���s election kitty. The party���s frontal organisations like Citu, DYFI, SFI and the farmers��� wing have been asked to mobilise funds.

CPM politburo member and state secretary Biman Bose has appealed to party members saying "Ruling political parties will spend a huge sum of money to run their poll campaign. We will also be requiring funds to run our campaigns. But we don���t have the capacity to spend like the big ruling parties.

" There is no doubt that the CPM will have to carry a high-profile campaign to retain the seats it won in the 2004 parliamentary polls. The party has also realised that a good amount of money will be required to run the campaign in every village. The party leadership is therefore attaching importance to fund mobilisation.