Ruling Left Front in West Bengal a house divided against itself

The ruling Left Front in West Bengal is a house divided against itself. Last fortnight, the Forward Bloc, a constituent of the Front, held its state conference and many speakers indulged in bitter criticism of the state Government's performance.Another, and more disquieting, theme was that the party leadership, and particularly the four Forward Bloc ministers in the state Cabinet, were totally subservient to the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), an attitude which the critics felt could pose a threat to the party's very existence in the state. Another Front constituent, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), had held its conclave earlier, and here too similar grumblings were heard.It is clear that the smaller Front partners are unhappy about the Marxists; however, they are not willing to break with the CPI-M right now, because that would be politicalhara-kiri.The discontent cannot but increase and next year's Assembly elections. have provided fresh fuel for the growing litany of grievances.When Front chairman and Marxist leader Promode Das Gupta announced at a Front meeting that the Centre would be asked to hold the elections in March, the other constituents had to fall in line with this unilateral decision.After which, Forward Bloc and RSP leaders had to go through the difficult exercise of convincing their respective cadres that the fait accompli served up by the CPI-M did not amount to a big brotherly attitude. Observers feel that the ranks were not convinced.Increased Influence: The rancour has its reasons. The well-organised CPI-M has been able to create an impression in the countryside that it, more than any other party, is responsible for all development in the last four and a half years.The Front leaders' cadre is much more in evidence in rural West Bengal than that of either the Forward Bloc or the RSP, and the Marxists have exploited this fact to increase their influence, at the cost of other parties.For instance, the RSP fared miserably in its stronghold of Murshidabad district during the panchayat elections, following its failure to have seat adjustments with the CPI-M. The Forward Bloc is looking askance at the growing influence of the Marxists in Cooch Behar district, where it once held near total sway.Jyoti Basu (left) and Promode Das Gupta: Big brotherly attitude?The other parties are fighting back: in parts of south 24-Parganas district, adjoining the Sundarbans, RSP militants are openly defying their Calcutta bosses to put up stiff physical resistance to the CPI-M juggernaut.The leaderships of the two parties, already under pressure from the rank and file, are in a quandary. After the resounding 1977 victory, the Marxists won their lesser partners' hearts by generously distributing important portfolios: commerce, agriculture, higher education, and cooperation went to the Forward Bloc, and health, public works and panchayats to the RSP.The vital food and civil supplies portfolio was given to the tiny Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI), which has only two members in the Assembly. The euphoria did not last long when realisation dawned that all strings were in Marxist hands and no decision could be taken without the approval of Chief Minister Jyoti Basu.Debabrata Bandopadhyaya (RSP) is the minister for panchayats but the real decisions are always taken by the Marxist-dominated Cabinet sub-committee. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sudhin Kumar (RCPI) plays second fiddle on policy matters to Benoy Chowdhury (CPI-M), minister for land reforms.Sources report that the Finance Ministry, held by the Marxists, becomes more rigid when dealing with proposals made by Forward Bloc and RSP ministers. And recently Higher Education Minister Sambhu Ghosh (Forward Bloc) was made to swallow a bitter pill when, during a wrangle between him and former governor T.N. Singh, Basu sided with the latter.Bad Blood: Within the CPI-M there is a feeling that it was a mistake to leave portfolios like agriculture and cooperation to the Forward Bloc. As a Marxist leader said: "The respective ministers failed to respond to the need of integrated development in the rural areas."With such bad blood, it-is extremely doubtful if the Marxists will be as generous in the distribution of Cabinet largesse if the Front returns to power; it is also extremely doubtful if the Marxists will support other party stalwarts like Public Works Minister Jatin Chakravorti (RSP), who won in 1977 from Dhakuria constituency adjoining south Calcutta, a refugee-dominated area and a Marxist stronghold.If the Marxists choose hot to welcome other leftists into their strongholds then RSP and Forward Bloc strongholds could also be closed to CPI-M candidates, with disastrous electoral consequences for the Front.The CPI-M wishes to exercise greater control over any future ministry because, as an insider puts it, "they want to avoid situations where they have to shoulder the blame for the shortcomings of other constituents". The more outspoken Marxists argue thus: "Neither the RSP nor the Forward Bloc has any real stake and their ministers can afford to be irresponsible.But we have a stake not only in West Bengal but also in national politics and we have to be more careful in future as we will ultimately be blamed for the misdeeds of others." The point is, however they choose to phrase it, that the Marxists, having consolidated their position in nearly half a decade of rule, are now eager to cut the others down to size.In Kerala too they had tried the same thing, trying to grow at the expense of their principal ally, the Congress(S), although A.K. Antony and his men could always find friends elsewhere than in the leftist camp.But the RSP and Forward Bloc in West Bengal are on the horns of a depressing dilemma: if they break with the Marxists they will get lost in the wilderness and if they stick with big brother they will, in the not too distant future, get swamped. And, at the moment, with elections and the Congress(I) looming nearer, they can do nothing but sit and sulk.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 25, 2013 16:49 IST--- ENDS ---

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Ruling Left Front in West Bengal a house divided against itself

The ruling Left Front in West Bengal is a house divided against itself. Last fortnight, the Forward Bloc, a constituent of the Front, held its state conference and many speakers indulged in bitter criticism of the state Government's performance.

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