CPM, take notice, Congress is out to tackle you!

By O.J.George
Kottayam: The Left front, particularly the CPM, was severely bashed up in the Lok Sabha elections.

Perhaps, groupism in the CPM and disunity among the LDF partners have hogged the headlines as these developments offered sauce for the media.

But the crux of the political connotation is that the CPM is going to be battered severely at levels of at least Kerala and West Bengal.

The defeat in West Bengal should be viewed more seriously than the destruction being brought about to the party because of personal wranglings in Kerala.

For over 30 years, the CPM has been the undisputed rulers in West Bengal. Every nook and corner was their pocket-borough.

Now West Bengal people are running away from it from many places, if the indications of the Lok Sabha elections are any pointers.Less than two years from now, Assembly elections would be held in Kerala, which has the precedents of alternate reign by the UDF and LDF.

There is no reason why the alternate governance pattern should not be repeated.But that is not the case with West Bengal which is going to the polls this year, along with some other states like Maharashtra.

Now Bengal has two stalwarts in the Union Cabinet, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee.

The Railway Minister has already bestowed her bounty on her state.Apart from trains and all, she has allotted a railway coach factory which would be located within the area of riots-marred Lalmarh.This should provide a lot of employment opportunities to the youth there directly and indirectly.

The Finance Minister has given a largesse to the state to rehabilitate the cyclone-ravaged areas.This budget provision of Rs 1,000 crore is over and above the National Calamity and Contingency Relief fund.

Note it well. Pranab Mukherjee has made an announcement that banking and insurance sectors would remain with the public sector.

The Left would have taken on the Congress and its ally, Trinamool Congress, in West Bengal had there been overt announcements about these sectors going private.

Everyone knows that more liberalized measures are on the way. But this official announcement in the budget would gag the Left from making frontal attacks against the Congress and TMC.

Moreover, the Finance Minister put thrust on agriculture sector and assured devolution of funds to the ryots one way or other.

The rural folks should also be somewhat happy. The poor people get Rs three a kilo rice or wheat. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme would ensure some money trickling to the labourers.

The Congress party and its government are going ahead with a strong bonding.

Take the case of the CPM. Its general secretary, Prakash Karat, is supporting Kerala’s party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.

Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan is dead against Pinrayi’s doings.

There are members in the politburo and the central committee lined up pro and con Achuthanandan as well as Pinarayi Vijayan.

West Bengal members play the neutral card.

Any solution, preferring one to the other would bring in doom.The situation is precarious for the CPM and consequently the Left front, both in Kerala and West Bengal.

Mind you, the CPM has an arduous task before it to keep itself keeping actively afloat, let alone retaining power.