Marxists in West Bengal dislodged from throne after 34 years

KOLKATA: Twenty Zero Nine was considered by many in CPM as a year of shame, with the party having lost 17 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal to Mamata Banerjee and Congress. "Twenty Eleven won’t be like this, we will show them", they had said then. Today, the Marxists in West Bengal have been dislodged from their throne after 34 years.

So what after Friday the 13th? The fabled machinery of the CPM lies shattered and Friday’s defeat has numbed almost everyone on Alimuddin Street, which houses the party headquarters.

The Marxists will now have to sit in the Opposition in the state Assembly - unthinkable even at the end of last year, when the CPM was still confident of reversing the tide in the Assembly polls.

Not that the role of Opposition is one that the CPM hasn’t been getting used. For example, in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the party was in the Opposition in 2001, and then again in 2010. Since 2008, the CPM has been in the Opposition in zilla parishads all over South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore. But, of course, an Opposition role in the Assembly is another matter.

The Marxists now have just two years to recover and reorganise. The next election for the panchayats will be in 2013. A year later will be Lok Sabha.

The process will be tough, because the next few months would inevitably be chaotic with the usual blame game, witch-hunting and scapegoats. Amidst this, it may be difficult for the CPM to mould public opinion in its favour or launch issue-based peoples’ movements.

So the future of the Marxists, in a way lies on unforced errors that Mamata Banerjee’s government and party could commit, which would be arsenal for the CPM.

A development to watch would be where the next party congress is held. Many in CPM circles want it in Kolkata, despite the rout; though they know it might be difficult to manage.

"Still, if we are able to host it, there is a positive message we would be passing to our boys on the field, that despite the setback, all is not lost yet," said a senior CPM leader.

"It just might be a kind of lifeline to our party workers whose morale is at an all-time low now," said an old Alimuddin Street hand. The last party congress was in Coimbatore in 2008.

Not everyone thinks so. There are many Marxists who expect the next few months to be violent. "It might not be a good idea at all to hold a party congress here to discuss policy matters," said a critic.