Rumblings in Bengal CPI(M) over national-level understanding with Trinamool

Dissenting voices have started growing in the West Bengal unit of CPI(M) over the recent proximity of the party’s national leaders with Trinamool Congress leadership over the Opposition coalition of Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The impact of the rumblings is being felt by state leadership of the only existing Leftist national party of the country, at the two-day meeting of CPI(M)’s state committee that started from Tuesday, where a number of district- level leaders have raised the issue of confusions among grassroots-level party workers in the matter.

Party insiders said that these district-level leaders have started updating the state level leadership about questions being raised by grassroots-level party workers on the rationale of CPI(M)’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury sharing the same frame with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the grand opposition alliance meetings at Patna or Bengaluru or party’s Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya seen in the same frame along with Trinamool Congress MP’s with placard on the Manipur issue with the Parliament premises.

The district- level leaders have also pointed out the rumblings among a section of the grassroots- level workers who claim that such scenes of so-called opposition unity are meaningless to them when several party workers were either killed or severely injured or harassed following the onslaughts of the ruling party activists in the recently concluded state panchayat polls.

Party insiders said that the party politburo member and the state secretary in West Bengal Md Salim tried his level- best to assure the district- level leaders that the national- level political obligations will in no way impact the party’s continued movements against ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.

“The recently-concluded panchayat polls have proved that though slowly, the party has started showing signs of regaining their eroded vote-bank to a great extent.

In such a situation, the question that is evolving among a section of the grassroots-level workers on whether this national-level show of unity will arrest the regaining process again,” a state committee member of the party said.

He also pointed out that BJP is trying to take advantage of this confusion.

Already the leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has given a call to Congress and CPI(M) leaders and workers, who cannot accept this national- level friendship with Trinamool Congress, to
either join BJP or form an independent platform against Trinamool Congress.