Historic Blunder 2

Twenty-five years ago, the hardliners of the CPIM party denied Jyoti Basu to become the Prime Minister of India. Jyoti Basu heeded as a disciplined leader of the party but called the decision ‘a historic blunder.’

Twenty-five years later, the CPIM in the political wilderness is trying to make a comeback in West Bengal. To the extent of stitching up, an alliance with the Congress party was perfect to a tee. However, the CPM committed another historic blunder when they allied with Siddiqi Abbas’s ISF. The Left’s avowed opposition to religious fundamentalism is now torn to pieces. The Congress’s stand is no different either, which is also a partner in this alliance.

The new political front, the ISF, left, Congress can claim a mammoth victory of the recently held Brigade rally. But it is the BJP that has walked away with rich dividends from the rally. The fiasco on the dais, snub between the State Congress President Adhir Choudhury and Abbas’s disparage were for all to see. One slight wrong step, the immature Abbas could have walked away and broken the alliance, which in real terms never was, is and never will be.

It is a historic blunder for the CPM because while the Muslim supporters of TMC, as I gather, will by and large stick to Mamata, the minority vote bank of the CPM, which the party had nurtured and groomed for nearly four decades, would slipped-away from the Left. The roar of the supporters gathered at the Brigade rally welcoming Abbas at his deliberate dramatic, and late entry into the meeting was significant. They only wanted to hear Abbas, and it was only his one gesture, which subdued the crowd.

Significantly, the G-23 leaders of the Congress have come down heavily over the Congress alliance with outfits like Abbas’s, which I wholeheartedly endorse. I wish Adhir steps out of this opportunistic and ideologically opposed alliance, even if it means a greater loss to the party. 

I wish the polarization politics, which governments managed ends and religious fundamentalist do not hold sway over the State’s future. 

Sampath Kumar

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