CPM's own stand a roadblock for Congress tie-up

NEW DELHI: The purpose of CPM's plenum, currently underway in Kolkata, is long-term overhaul of the near-moribund party organization in many states but the focus has shifted to short-term possibility of electoral alliance with Congress in West Bengal for next year's assembly elections.

While the party leadership has pointed out that the plenum is not to decide on electoral alliances and a decision will be taken in January, a section of the Bengal leadership thinks any understanding - tacit or otherwise - with Congress will fuel some energy in the Left Front, hardly prepared to take on Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. But a senior Bengal leader, averse to the idea of any understanding with Congress, told TOI, "This is a balloon floated from time to time, more so during elections. The decline of Congress has been sharper than the Left. Now, Congress is limited to a few pockets in the state."

But the bigger roadblock to the idea of aligning with Congress is CPM's new political-tactical line unanimously adopted at the 21st Party Congress in Vishakapatnam in April. The political-tactical line adopted after months of deliberations makes it very clear that "the party will have no understanding or electoral alliance with Congress". The party's decision-making bodies - be it the Central Committee or Politburo - have a majority of leaders who do not subscribe to the 'align-with-Congress' view. While the Bengal leadership is divided on the issue, Kerala, Tripura and Tamil Nadu are fully opposed to any truck with Congress. "It is better to rebuild the party rather than seek quick-fix solutions," says another leader.

A senior party leader said, "The new political-tactical line cannot be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency." CPM's distrust of Congress was also made clear at the Party Congress in these words: "While the main direction of the struggle is against BJP, the party will continue to oppose Congress. It has pursued neo-liberal policies and it is the Congress-led UPA government's anti-people policies and massive corruption which helped BJP to acquire popular support."

Since the adoption of the new political-tactical line that also emphasizes on building independent strength of the party and forging Left unity, the first major election came up in Bihar and despite overtures from JD(U) and Congress, the Left parties did not join the secular alliance (Mahagathbandhan). A section of the Bihar leadership as well as few leaders in Delhi were in favour of going with the secular alliance to defeat BJP. But the majority view prevailed.