Time to change it to Left front from CPM front: CPI

KOLKATA: CPI, an important constituent of West Bengal's Left Front, wants to free the alliance from CPM's dominance and control. The party also does not want 'big brother' CPM to hold the Front chairman's post perpetually. CPI feels that the post must be abolished and the front should be headed by a convenor to be nominated for a year from all constituents by turn.

CPI has prepared a document for restructuring the Left Front. The document will be placed before the 21st CPI congress, which began in Patna on Tuesday. Once the party congress gives the green signal to the document, the CPI leadership will forward it to all front constituents, including CPM for suggestions.

In its document, CPI wants some revolutionary changes to be made to restructure the front. The party feels that it is high time to restructure the Left Front to make it more pro-people and regain the confidence of the common people.

A senior CPI leader told ET on Tuesday, "the Left Front is a platform of all the Left and democratic parties. But in reality, the Front is being run by CPM. We want the Left Front to become the genuine common platform of all the Left-minded political forces and in transforming the Front, we want an end CPM's absolute supremacy in running the organisation.

Instead of the Left Front chairman, there should be one Left Front convenor who will be nominated from all the Front constituents in rotation and whose term will be for one year.

We also want a separate office of the Left Front to be set up and a common code of conduct for all the constituents of the Front which will be followed strictly by all workers of different political parties under the Front," he added.

Until and unless the separate front office is set up, front meetings should be held in the offices of all its partners and not only in CPM headquarters on Alimuddin Street, the CPI document suggests.

It also said in its document that workers and staff of the proposed Left Front office be recruited from among front constituents. CPM has been holding the post of the Left Front chairman's post since 1977.