Resurrection of Leftists

Resurrection of Leftism
Vidyut Chakraborty
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

0
Vidyut Chakraborty loves to write on

socio-political , socio- religious issues. He
believes in Rabindra Nath Tagores educational
thinking and the Marxian doctrine for changing
socio economical establishments to the interest
of general mass. He loves to write on such
topics that moves and shakes the
contemporary society of his own province and
his own country and its surrounding upon
which
he tries to survive befittingly. Born in
4th November 1952, studied in University of

Calcutta, worked as a Revenue Brass, came up
from a middle class family, Vidyut surfs upon
the dreams of Tagore and Marx to achieve a
fearless society of equality, humanity,
fraternity and justice. His poems subscribe to
the www.poemhunter.com and the essays are
published in scribd.com although he started
writing poems in Bengali and edited some
journals.
PREFACE
1
http://www.scribd.com/doc/224502769/RESURRECTION-OF-LEFTISTS-ADILEMNA
Resurrection of Left Front is now a debatable question in West

Bengal. The general mass, the intelligentsia, the elites, the merchants are
on the halt to ponder the return of the thirty four years continuous power to
return or not. All well that end well is not a matching phrase in the power
blocks of Kolkatas hot polity. A colossal political structure of Leftists in West
Bengal is now thriving for survival. Communists all over the world are facing
similar sorts of difficulties, and here too, to the sinking of Capitalist
economic ideas and to the shrinking of classical Communist ideals. With the
advent of neo market economy a transition of the leftism is also adapting
with the global situation, what is now known as Alternative Strategy. The
leaders of the Leftist Power Block in India, namely LEFT FRONT, faced similar
slander and assault from its foundation (1925) to its victory (1977) and they
survived. This time the fall of LEFT FRONT government of thirty four years
legacy and integrity was attacked from outside and from inside too. The
question of industrialization with the help of the capitalists by a provincial
government of socialist belief on the ground reality of fragmented land
share of the marginal peasantry was a unique idea in the history of Marxism
and Leninism. The LEFT FRONT government attained a historic deed gaining
confidence of people of Bengal and being in power in a province and
completing land reforms and distributing surplus lands to the share croppers
and backward peasants of Bengal which remained a dream to the peasants
of other provinces, where caste and religion segmented the human race.
The question of transition to the industrialization age at the time of global
Capital crises, melting, at the cost of the acquisition of poor farmers arable
land was totally anti-left from the point of classical Marxian view. The error
of commission done by the Leftists shudder the base of mass confidence.
The process has been undertaken by the LEFT FRONT to regain the lost faith
of a large number of people to strengthen the base in a leftist way. To
combat the present situations much more difficult than earlier fall back.
The greatest challenge is not just in the institutions themselves but in
mind-sets: Caring about the environment, making sure the poor have a say in
decisions that affect them, promoting democracy and fair trade are necessary if
2
the potential benefits of globalization are to be achieved,

Globalization and its Discontent]
[Joseph Stiglitz in
BACKGROUND OF PRESENT SCENARIO:
Come
again the Parliamentary Election in this hot summer of 2014. Bengal will
participate with all other States. This is the time to think deeply about the past
present and future of the State. After continuously winning from 1977 to 2004
as a major coalition in West Bengal, Left Front was halved in Parliamentary
election of 2009. Not that The Leftists were ever able to win over the 42 seats of
parliament in West Bengal, their tally swung around 30 seats more or less, the
rest were won by Indian National Congress, Trinamul Congress ( a break away
of INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (in two occasions). In the Assembly election
of 2011, Left Front loose their stronghold first time in 34 years, getting down to
a quarter of what they had. The time passed from 2005 to 2011 saw many
eventful episodes, both incidental and accidental, in politics. A massive disaster
came upon the left parties even though they had obtained votes from more
than 20 million on the contrary 23 million votes were gathered by all-out effort
of the anti Left Front. There is some peculiar arithmetic in Indian parliamentary
system of voting which can draw larger seats with lesser votes and vice versa.
The number of voters, turnout of voters, and cancellation of votes everything
counts to be the factor in this game. Besides, the voting pattern is subject to so
many other important factors that swayed the poll. The riot torn independence
and partition of Bengal in 1947, Tebhaga movement of peasants in 1948, the
tortures by INC government upon the peasants and workers participating in
strikes, Lifting ban from Left parties only before elections, China war and
bifurcation of CPI in 1962, Food movement in 1966, dethroning of two United
Front Governments in 1967 & in 1969, war with Pakistan in 1971 to liberate East
Pakistan (Bangladesh), Naxalite movement from 1970, promulgation of internal
emergency (21-month period in 197577)and its excess, are the important other
factors. A massive rigging was done by INC in 1972 and the rally of Jaiprakash
Narayan against rigging and atrocities was also another big factor for change of
power in West Bengal in 1977.Another big switch over happened in 2011 which
also witnessed the bleeding history of mass movement against Singur and
Nandigram land acquisition for industrialization. The latter brought about a
CHANGE (PARIBARTON in Bengali) which dethroned Left Rule in West Bengal,
aftermath of the change is the debate on resurrection of Left rule which is at
present really thrown the Bengalis in dilemma. How the left minded people will
come to the help of Left Front, whether by means of resurrection or through
transition? Or there is no hope of coming back to power.
3
A section of media , some columnists and some NGO-brass draw a line of

resemblence with the fall of Soviet in 1989- a seventy-five years regime of
socialist power which have not been able to come back even today.But why
such citation bursts? Soviet Russia became the first communist nation in
October revolution of 1911. This marked the materialisation of Marxian
philosophy- the much debated anti capitalist dialectical materialism of England
and Europe. The communist party did not come back in Russia till date after the
fall of Soviet . This incited the anti communist lobby together with capitalist
power block under the leadership of USA who was mostly benefitted due to the
disappearance of bipolar power balance.Obviously the beneficiary parties will
not like to see the communist parties to flourish not only in Russia but in other
countries also. Whatever is the world scenario of the past and the present, a
question of survival became ultimate target of Bengals leftism through the
Indian parliamentary election.
BENGALS ELECTIONS OUTPUT:
In 1946 in the provincial assemblys election1 of undivided Bengal the
leaders of the opposition were Late Kiran Shankar Ray of Indian National
Congress (INC) and Late Jyoti Basu of Communist Party of India (CPI). Far from
competing with the two main parties (Muslim League and INC), the communists
became the third force in terms of the popular vote. Amongst the elected
candidates were Comrade Jyoti Basu (Railways Constituency), Comrade Ratanlal
Brahman (Darjeeling Constituency) and Comrade Rupnarayan Ray (Dinajpur
Constituency). Comrade Chatur Ali, another contestant was defeated out of the
four candidates of CPI in Bengal. These elections were important as the
provincial assemblies thus formed were to then elect a new Constituent
Assembly for an independent India. It was also announced that an executive
council would be formed and a constitution-making body would be convened
after these elections. [1On 19 September 1945, the Viceroy Lord Wavell announced that
elections to the central and provincial legislatures would be held in December 1945 to January 1946
].
Then came the election in 1951, CPI secured 28 seats (11%) whereas INC
secured 150 seats (39%) . In the year 1962 CPI got more seats (50) with higher
percentage (25%). INC secured more than previous one. In 1967 , the year of
first time coalition of United Front, the total seats of Communists (CPI & CPIM)
summed up to 59 (16&43) and vote percentage goes up to 25 (7 &18). CPI left
far behind CPIM in 1971 assembly election, the turning point of the advent of
CPIM. The data from election commission reveals the fact something extra
ordinary happened in 1972 as because the decreasing graph of INC suddenly
boosted up from 105seats (29%) to 216 (49%) and their alliance CPI from 13
4
seats to 35 seats although they got 6% votes constant where as CPIM fell back
drastically. From 1969 the assembly election data transpired that the increase/
decrease in percentage of vote do not directly proportional to increase/
decrease of seats.
The second phase of election era started from 1977 because of the
downfall of absolute Congress Rule over India. From 1977 to 1996 CPIM secured
35 to 38 per cent of votes for 157 to 189 seats on average. INC secured 23 to
39 per cent of votes obtaining 20 to 43 seats showing gradual increase.
Third phase started in 2001, when INC was bifurcated and Trinamul
Congress (AITC) came in to limelight as a turbulent opposition of Left Front
government. The vote percentage and seats secured by INC was gradually
transferred to AITC (in brief TMC in Bengal) in the three consecutive assembly
elections ; specially AITC snatched 9 % additional votes from Left Front,
specifically 7% from CPIM, 1% each from AIFB and RSP in 2011. The INC got
9%(42 seats) and AITC obtained 39%(184seats) in 2011 whereas in 2001 INC
got 8%(26seats) and AITC obtained 31%(60seats) and in 2006 INC got
15%(21seats) and AITC obtained 27%(30seats).The course of election result
conspicuously stated the socio-political reality of the State and the electoral
reforms ruled over the minds of voters. Economic reforms and disasters did not
put much effect on the voters thought process in general.
TABLE 1
WEST BENGAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS, 1982-2006 : VOTES AND YIELDS (SOURCE:ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA)
1977
1982
1987
1991
1996
2001
2006
2011
Partie %
Se
%
Se
%
Se
%
Seat % Seat % Se
%
Se
% Sea
s
at
at
at
at
at
t
CPIM
35
INC
23
AITC
AIFB
RSP
CPI
JNP
BJP
Total
17
8
20
17
6
21
3
0
9
40
NOT SEPARATED FROM INC
30
5
4
2
20
23
20
9
3
9
5
3
2
18
4
11
7
2
0
29
4
25
20
2
29
29
4
38
36
17
4
49
39
42
18
7
40
37
189
35
43
3
8
3
9
157
43
3
7
8
14
3
26
37
15
3 60
27
1
6
28
6
26
6
29
5 21
6 25
6
4
19
4
18
3
18
4 18
3 17
4
2
7
2
11
2
5
3 3
2 7
2
BJS MERGED TO JNP then JNP MERGED TO FORM BJP
0
0
0
2
2
5 0
1
29
29
29
294
29
4
4
4
4
0
29
4
5
42
PREJUDICES :
Some illusory lectures broadcast by certain intellectuals and media persons
about the fairness in past elections and the morality, ethics etc. maintained at
the previous time was coming to be untrue and so base less from the analysis of
the annexed tables.
A. Never there was a large turn out of eligible voters excepting
West Bengal.
B. INC being omnipresent in India and the only claimant of
bringing freedom never attained to get even 50% of polled
votes in spite of all its conjuring and patriotism.
C. Anti -INC vote was higher in numbers.
D. Vote percentage of RSP and AIFB did not increase.
E. On the contrary CPIM ascended graphically excepting in two
elections, 1972 and 2011 there was sharp fall beyond
arithmetic.
F. BJP (Earlier known BJS) did not hold foot in West Bengal
except in two occasions.
G. Minor malpractices did not change the vote percentage, but
major events in 1972 , 1977 & 2011 brought about changes
abruptly.
H. Starting from 1969 election the percentage of vote secured
by a party ceased to be directly proportional to the seats
they obtained.
I. The division of a political party badly affects the poll
prospect of the mother party.
TABLE 2
WEST BENGAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS, 1982-2006 : VOTES AND YIELDS
(SOURCE:- ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA)
1972
1971
1969
1967
1962
1957
1951
Partie % Se
%
Seat %
Se
%
Se
% Seat %
Seat % Seat
s
at
at
at
CPIM
27
14
33
113
20
80
18
43
INC
49
29
105
41
55
41
AIFB
RSP
2
2
21
6
0
3
3
2
3
3
5
3
21
12
CPI
BJS
8
0
35
0
8
1
13
1
7
1
30
0
4
N.A
.
7
1
12
7
13
N.A
.
16
1
CPI
SPLITS
47 157
5
3
13
9
25
50
0
UNDIVIDED CPI
46
152
39
150
4
N.A
.
18
1
8
N.A.
7
1
13
0
46
1
11
13
28
9
6
Total
28
0
279
28
0
28
0
252
252
238
TURN OUT OF VOTERS:

From 1952 to 2009 population growth(367,000,000 to
1,156,897,766) gradually reached its zenith, the voting pattern did not
change to that level; the voting percentage did not increase with the
increase of mass-education, social strata and propaganda of
globalization and neo liberalization. Did the participating political
parties or the Government go deep into this status quo? Several
reforms propagated and amendments of constitution were made, in
spite of that no progress was seen. Why? More than 40% of eligible
voters did not turn out. What resisted them not to support the election
system in spite of being legitimate voters? Claiming the largest
democracy of the world the Indian Parliament is formed on the basis of
less than 60% of the eligible voters and the party that leads to form the
Union government usually obtains the mandate of only less than 30% of
the polled votes. The two major game players in Indian politics shunned
the coalition government for a long time whereas the leftists did the
same from the very beginning, and later the two had to follow the
leftists line of politics of coalition making a frontal platform of left and
democratic secular minded parties.
Table 4
YEAR VOTER TOTAL

REGISTEREDVOTES
VOTER POPULATION
TURN OUTVOTE POLLEDVOTERS
NOT POLLEDTURN OUT
FAILED
200 58.17% 417,037,6 716,985,
299,947,4 41.83
1,156,897,
9
06
101
95
%
766
200 58.07% 389,948,3 671,487,
281,539,6 41.92
1,049,700,
4
30
930
00
%
118
199 59.99% 371,669,1 619,536,
247,867,7 40.01
986,856,
9
04
847
43
%
301
199 61.97% 375,441,7 605,880,
230,438,4 38.03
970,933,
8
39
192
53
%
000
199 57.94% 343,308,0 592,572,
249,264,2 42.06
952,590,
6
35
288
53
%
000
199 56.73% 282,700,9 498,363,
215,662,8 43.27
851,661,
1
42
801
59
%
000
7
198
9
198
4
198
0
197
7
197
1
196
7
196
2
195
7
195
2
61.98%
63.56%
56.92%
60.49%
55.25%
61.04%
55.42%
62.23%
61.17%
309,050,4
95
241,246,8
87
202,752,8
93
194,263,9
15
151,296,7
49
152,724,6
11
119,904,2
84
120,513,9
15
105,950,0
83
498,647,
786
379,540,
608
356,205,
329
321,174,
327
273,832,
301
250,207,
401
216,361,
569
193,652,
179
173,212,
343
189,597,2
91
138,293,7
21
153,452,4
36
126,910,4
12
122,535,5
52
97,482,7
90
96,457,2
85
73,138,2
64
67,262,2
60
38.02
%
36.44
%
43.08
%
39.51
%
44.75
%
38.96
%
44.58
%
37.77
%
38.83
%
817,488,
000
746,742,
000
663,596,
000
625,818,
000
550,820,
000
504,160,
000
449,641,
000
402,225,
000
367,000,
000
The tremendous hard work in labour belt and agriculture sector

yielded result. In 1951 vote percentage rose to 11 with 28 seats, in 1957
the party bagged 18% with 46 seats and in 1962 it obtained 25% with
50 seats in West Bengal Assembly Election. CPI was divided in 1964 on
several issues one of those was China Aggression in India. Despite the
division in 1967 CPM bagged 18% with 43 seats and CPI got 7% with 16
seats. CPI (M) began its journey with victorious mood and CPI fell behind
once for all.
Look at the reality of voting tabulation in parliamentary election of
2009, some 15000 less than 71.70 lakh registered voters, means
61.97% of the population, were eligible to cast votes, and the turn out
percentage led to actually 36.04% of the population and out of that INC
secured 29% that means 10.45% of total population to form the UPA2
government. The opposition party BJP bagged 6.84% votes of total
population. The electoral August Body did not take proper step to bring
those absentee voters to booth. If they could do the job successfully
they could claim they served the biggest democracy. Against 10.45
percentage of mandate, 17.30 percentage of population maintained
silence to choose their ruler. What those absentee voters thought of the
process of choosing a new government? And that minority chosen
government is taking all such decisions effective or destructive for the
people of India -can we say the democracy is on?
8
Table 5
Election Year
Parties >
1984
1989
1991
1996
1998
1999
2004
2009
2014
Percentage of Votes all

over India
BJP INC Non-BJP NonINC
8
49
43
11
40
49
20
36
44
20
29
51
26
26
48
37
28
35
22
27
49
19
29
48
?
?
?
PARTY LEGACY:
Under these auspices we have to find out the causes and effects of
the downfall of Leftists legacy. To realize the fall of 34 years continuity
just by swinging of maximum 9% vote, one has to know about the rise of
Leftists after 55 years of struggle for the peasants and workers of
Bengal. There is a long history of fights, torture and imprisonment for a
noble cause, the economic uplifting of peasants and workers, which was
advocated by many a Congress leaders including Nehru and Gandhi in
so many words, but all they did was to showcase a cosmetic social
change as was practiced by the religious rich men to allow the
downtrodden in their rituals to dole out alms. Nehru practiced his way of
socialism which left a legacy of Nehruvian view followed by his followers
in INC.
What was Bengal doing
From 1905 to 1911 ? The Bengal
intelligentsia was engaged in contrversial bifurcation of Bengal Province
into East And West and the shifting of Indian Capital to Delhi. Indian
politicians forgot the developmental doctirne of the Nineteenth centurys
pioneers, like Raja Rammohun Roy and Dwarka Nath Tagore, and was
encouraging the neo Indian industrialists in the name of Hindu
Nationalism.This thinkers of Hindu nationalism and the players of Hindu
chauvinism waved a uphoria against divison of two provinces, later
allowed the partition of Bengal into two nations.At that time no leader
was thinking of going to the downtrodden people to tell them their fight
9
with the British was a fight of the common mass in the interest of
economic upliftment of the peasants and workers,the proletariate
portion of the society through achieving freedom. Bipin Chandra Pal took
the effort but did not succeed. Mohan Das K Gandhi in his own manner
originally did the job after entering Indian politics in 1920. He attracted a
large section of general people addressing the Harijon, the
downtrodden, against the British Empire creating a mass hysteria
through Ahimsa (non violence) and Abhoy(fearlessness) on sociopolitical issues,parallely there was the current of strikes and mass
movement on economic issues based on the ideals of revolution on
violent form conducted by the revolutionery parties trying to make a
united effort all over India. But such move was resisted from inside and
outside , and they failed. One of such revolutionary was Comrade M N
Roy, who with other revolutionaries in abroad succeeded to form a
communist party of India in Tashkent, Russia in 1920. Many Indian
revolutiionaries from India and abroad assembled in Russia after October
Revolution,1911.In India too,revolutionary groups formed the Communist
Party of India in 1925 in Kanpur.
Irrespective of the controversy of the time of foundation ( be it
1920 in Tashkent
or 1925 in Cawnpore/Kanpur) the phase of
germination passed through many contradictions and hurdles, Anushilon
Samity, Jugantor Group, Workers and Peasants Party of Bengal (WPPB)
subscribed major role in formation of Communist Party of India. From the
stand of third Commintern on 19th. July,1929, a call to the Indian
communists group working all over the world to desert WPP to
strengthen the Communist party of India turned the party a formidable
block in Indian politics. The emergence of leftist forces in India had its
root in peasantry and industrial workers under the conscious ideal
leadership.Only the revolutionary groups scattered all over India and
abroad came together to the contrary of the massive party force like
Indian National Congress suported by national burgeoise and educated
middle class of people.Involvement of peasanta and workers were with
the revolutionary parties. Bengal had the two basic parts, agriculture
and industry. Beside Bengal had the heritage of pioneering Indian
modernity.
The communist party and allied socialist groups stood up to the side
of famine- sufferer and the victims of Hindu- Muslim riots.They organized
several strikes on the demand for pay-hike, crops share and for
sustenance.Indian National Congress was actually a national front to fight
for independence,that comprised of different thoughts and lines of actions,
10
for obvious reason Hindu Nationalist were major force and the balancing
force
was
from
secular,
democratic,
socialist ,
revolutionary
thinkers.Revolutionary actionists did not match the Congress.Many of the
members of Congress Socialist group joined the Communist Party,the fore
runner was Comrade EMS Namboodripad, a keralite Brahmin and a scholar
of renowned Kashi Vidyapith. He was the pioneer to form a Communist
party led government in Kerala in 1957 first time in India.
From 1940s to 1960s there was a massive support of people behind the
leftists despite the pre and post independence riotous situation, yet they
could not win the power seat of West Bengal till 1967 by formation of
United Front of left and democratic forces and finally as Left Front in
1977.
This had the root in the defeat faced by the CPI in 1946 election. CPI had
presented 108 candidates, out of whom only 8 won; the set-back came
as a result of the decision of the party not to support the Quit India
movement of 1942. All in all, the Communist Party obtained 2.5% of the
popular vote, 7 out of 8 were elected from labour constituencies. In
short, Communists did get politically very isolated in India owing to the
partys decision to not join the Quit India Movement of 1942 because,
after Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the Second World War
was seen as a peoples war against worldwide fascist offensive. In the
election of 1946 faced with Congress hooliganism in the course of that
first election campaign, the party learned how a well-organized working
class movement can fan out and overcome systematically the fraudulent
practices of the bourgeois politicians and their cohorts in the
bureaucracy. The party retained this connection with the working class
through trade union work. However, the Great Bengal Famine, which was
itself a result of the colonial governments diversion of food supplies to
the war front with no compensatory mechanism, and which raged with
great ferocity during 1943-44, was the occasion when the party worked
relentlessly among the victims of famine and led broader anti-famine
campaigns among various strata of society, thus overcoming the earlier
isolation through sheer mass work.
11
The first Polit Bureau of the CPI(M), 1964: (Standing, from left) P. Ramamurti, M.
Basavapunnaiah, E.M.S. Namboodiripad and Harkishan Singh Surjeet; (sitting, from left)
Pramode Dasgupta, Jyoti Basu, P. Sundarayya, B.T. Ranadive and A.K. Gopalan.
BASIC REALITY BEFORE AND AFTER 1947

In 1930s, the Communist Party placed the theory of a united front
against fascism. Unity was built up among the working people. All-India
post and telegraph Strike, movements of the government employees
and, above all, the programs around the naval uprising at the Bombay
seaport.In the 1940 riots CPI stood firm to stop the menace and got
support of the peasantry who were poor muslim and lower caste Hindus.
In 1942, Britain and Russia became a part of allied forces against
fascism of Hitler and Russia termed the war against fascism as Peoples
War which prompted CPI to soften stand against Britain. Hindu
Nationalist used propaganda against CPI as British agent. This gave a
set back to CPI in 1946 election. CPI voted against partition of Bengal
and jumped into the riotous poor hindu and muslim fellows to save
them. CPI became the savior of refugees from East Pakistan lending
protectors hands through UCRC.
Later in 1948, the historic Tebhaga movement unified the rural
poor and created a point of inspiration for kisans in the then united
Bengal. Independent Indias police under the instruction of chief minister
Bidhan Chandra Ray opened fire on the agitating peasants and killed
many poor peasants.Indian Peoples Theatre brought forth galaxy of
singers
poets
dramatists
and
created
a
GANONATYO
SANSKRITI(peoplesculture)
much
different
from
RABINDRASANSKRITI(Tagore oriented culture) in Bengal.There was a big movement
of students and youth as well. These struggles and movements stand as
evidence of the splendid historic role played by the Communist Party in
the pre-independence period.
12
In West Bengal, in 1953, when the British-owned Calcutta Tramways

Company hiked the tram fare the Communist Party and other antiCongress parties put up an agitation to resist the hike of fare.
In 1954, under the chief ministership of Dr B C Roy, a massive
food crisis overtook the state with a near-famine condition. An antifamine committee was then set up, and it organised statewide
movements.
In 1954-55, anti-Congress forces from Bengal contributed to the
struggle for Goas freedom from Portuguese occupation,.
Committee against the Bengal-Bihar merger conducted a
statewide movement against the merger proposal. At this time,
Professor Mohit Moitra, member of CPI and President of the anti-merger
committee, receive the support of all anti-Congress political parties and
defeat the Congress candidate, Ashok Sen, from Kolkata Northwest in
the Lok Sabha by-elections. Chief minister B C Roy had to withdraw the
Bengal-Bihar merger proposal and victory celebrations were observed
throughout Bengal.
In 1954-56, the teachers of Bengal launched a movement to
demand subsistence salaries. The teachers had no job security either. A
massive anti-Congress struggle then grew up against the move. Further,
a statewide students agitation grew up when the Phillips commission
called for curtailment of higher education. A food movement was
organised in 1958, as was a students agitation in the same year. In
1959, the state suffered from a massive food shortage. Following a
month-long campaign movement, a central rally held on August 31, was
organised near Octarloni Monument in Maidan area. Just before the
dusk, the police arrested the leaders like Jyoti Basu and started
lathi(baton)charge; 80 people were bludgeoned to death on the spot and
hundreds left injured. Students organised a strike on September 1. When
the police fired upon their rally and killed some students, a protest day
was observed in the form of a strike on September 2. A general strike
was organised successfully on September 3. Over 130 courted
martyrdom between 31 August and 3 September. Mass movements
were organised during 1960-61 also. The student movement roared in
protest against the setting up of an Indo-American Foundation for import
of wheat under the PL 480 scheme. In this background, a united Left
alliance contested against the Congress during the 1962 general
elections. In 1962, when a Sino-Indian border clash occurred, some
members of the Communist Party raised the demand for a solution of
the problem through bilateral discussions; they were marked as
Chinese agents. In 1964 CPI was divided.
The CPI (M) was born into a hostile political climate. At the time of the
holding of its Calcutta Congress, large sections of its leaders and cadres
13
were jailed without trial. Again on 2930 December 1964, over a

thousand CPI (M) cadres were arrested and detained, and held in jail
without trial. In 1965 new waves of arrests of CPI(M) cadres took place in
West Bengal, as the party launched agitations against the rise in fares in
the Calcutta Tramways and against the then prevailing food crisis. Statewide general strikes and hartals were observed on 5 August 1965, 1011
March 1966 and 6 April 1966. The March 1966 general strike results in
several deaths in confrontations with police forces. In 1965, when an
Indo-Pak war broke out, CPIM demanded a solution through peaceful
talks, and they were termed as the Pakistani agents .
In February 1966, All India Students Federation launched a student
agitation demanded food, kerosene oil and exercise books. But the
police opened fire against the students. A school student, Nurul Islam,
was killed. Several districts like Nadia, Hooghly, Burdwan, 24 Parganas
and Kolkata became the turbulent zones of protests. The massive
discontent among the common people in the state created a negative
atmosphere for the ruling Congress party, and it broke into two. Ajoy
Mukherjee ,Sushil Dhara and some other leaders left the Congress to
form the Bangla Congress. [Also in Kerala, mass arrests of CPI(M) cadres were
carried out during 1965. In Bihar, the party called for a Bandh (general strike) in Patna
on 9 August 1965 in protest against the Congress state government. During the strike,
police resorted to violent actions against the organisers of the strike. The strike was
followed by agitations in other parts of the state.
The Central Committee(CC) of CPI (M) held its first meeting on 1219
June 1966. The reason for delaying the holding of a regular CC meeting
was the fact that several of the persons elected as CC members at the
Calcutta Congress were jailed at the time. A CC meeting had been
scheduled to have been held in Trichur during the last days of 1964, but
had been cancelled due to the wave of arrests against the party. The
meeting discussed tactics for electoral alliances, and concluded that the
party should seek to form broad electoral alliances with all nonreactionary opposition parties in West Bengal (i.e. all parties except Jan
Sangh and Swatantra Party). This decision was strongly criticized by the
Communist Party of China, the Party of Labour of Albania, the
Communist Party of New Zealand and the radicals within the party itself.
The line was changed at a National Council meeting in Jullunder in
October 1966, where it was decided that the party should only form
alliances with selected left parties.
NAXALITE UPSURGEAt this point the party stood at crossroads. There were
radical sections of the party who were wary of the increasing parliamentary
focus of the party leadership, especially after the electoral victories in West
Bengal and Kerala. Developments in China also affected the situation inside the
14
party. In West Bengal two separate internal dissident tendencies emerged,

which both could be identified as supporting the Chinese line. In 1967 a
peasant uprising broke out in Naxalbari, in northern West Bengal. The
insurgency was led by hardliner district-level CPI(M) leaders Comrade Charu
Majumdar and Comrade Kanu Sanyal. The hardliners within CPI(M) saw the
Naxalbari uprising as the spark that would ignite the Indian revolution. The
Communist Party of China hailed the Naxalbari movement, causing an abrupt
break in CPI(M)-CPC relations. The Naxalbari movement was violently repressed
by the West Bengal government, of which CPI(M) was a major partner. Within
the party, the hardliners rallied around an All India Coordination Committee of
Communist Revolutionaries. Following the Burdwan plenum of CPI(M) (held on
512 April 1968), the AICCCR separated themselves from CPI(M). On 1 May
CPI(ML) was formed. In common parlance CPI(ML) cadres were known as
Naxalites.This split divided the party throughout the country. The party and the
Naxalites (as the rebels were called) were soon to get into a bloody feud.
[In Andhra Pradesh another revolt was taking place. There the pro-Naxalbari dissidents
had not established any presence. But in the party organisation there were many
veterans from the Telangana armed struggle, who rallied against the central party
leadership. In Andhra Pradesh the radicals had a strong base even amongst the statelevel leadership. The main leader of the radical tendency was T. Nagi Reddy, a member
of the state legislative assembly. On 15 June 1968 the leaders of the radical tendency
published a press statement outlining the critique of the development of CPI(M). It was
signed by T. Nagi Reddy, D.V. Rao, Kolla Venkaiah and Chandra Pulla Reddy.[16] In total
around 50% of the party cadres in Andhra Pradesh left the party to form the Andhra
Pradesh Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries, under the leadership
of T. Nagi Reddy.[17]]
TURNING POINT
On this background the 1967 elections for the state assembly were held.
The two anti-Congress fronts , the United Left Front (ULF) and the
Peoples United Left Front (PULF), now came together to create a United
Front (UF) in the post-election scenario, and formed the state
government. It is to be noted that, despite being the leader of the
largest political party, Jyoti Basu did not become the chief minister.
Instead, Ajoy Mukherjee of the Bangla Congress was nominated to the
chair of the chief minister. Later Bangla Congress merged with the State
Congress.
But the Congress regime at the centre struck back and the UF
government was dismissed within nine months. But the mid-term
election of 1969 again made the Congress a minority party and a second
UF government was set up. However, this government too was
dismissed within 13 months . From 1970 onward, an atmosphere of
terror was being created. A mid-term election was held in 1971.
Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who at times opens his mouth to pontificate on
15
this and who later became the chief minister, was then a central
minister and looked after the Bengal related matters. He created an
atmosphere of terror in the state in a planned manner. This has been
referred to by a former US ambassador to India, Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
in his book A Dangerous Place. He notes that the US supplied funds to
prevent the rapid growth of communist influence in West Bengal. The
book mentions that the US twice helped India with funds in such like
situations: once to topple the first communist government in Kerala
under E M S Namboodiripad, and then to curtail the communist strength
in West Bengal. Maybe, in the days to come, we get to read how many
more times had the US put in funds to influence the Indian politics.
However, what was unfortunate was that even after such wealth of
experience no united front was set up for the mid-term elections of
1971. The CPI(M) forged an understanding with a few smaller parties
and, in the elections that followed, anti-Congress forces together got a
majority again. The CPI(M) emerged as the largest single party. Yet the
governor ignored the parliamentary norms and did not invite the CPI(M)
to form a government. From then on Indira Congress and pseudoNaxalites(Conxal) roared MAKKU HATAO DESH BACHAO means OUST
CPI(M) AND SAVE THE COUNTRY. The fun of the scene was CPI joined
habds with the Indira Congress.
The 1972 election was marked by a massive rigging. Booth capturing,
false voting, forced voting and manipulation during the counting of
ballots took place on a large scale. All-out efforts were made that the
CPI(M) was defeated everywhere during the assembly elections.
However, the best of the worst CPI(M) won 14 seats. Nevertheless, the
CPI(M) boycotted the state assembly set up on the basis of these
malpractices. Its winning MLAs did not take oath in protest, nor did they
take their wages and other perquisites for five years. This was an
example of the morality and principled stand of the CPI(M).
The Congress(Indira) government that took office now was headed by
Siddhartha Shankar Ray as the chief minister. Under him, every effort
was made to isolate the CPI(M) from the people.
Not all the political parties, at that point in time, adopted a principled
stand as the CPI(M) did. The CPI(M) was able to take a principled stand
because it works towards forging a unity of the workers, peasants and
other toilers to change the society, and exert itself in the interest of the
working people; it is because it acknowledges and accepts MarxismLeninism as a science and its guiding ideology. The party had had to
tackle a variety of situational realities at various points of time in its
16
daily functioning and in its effort to build up mass movements in the

interests of the people.
The CPI(M) has had to adopt a different tactic while confronting the
semi-fascist terror of the 1970s. We had to tackle such situations as
institution of false cases against 80,000 of its supporters, ouster of over
20,000 families of its cadres from their hearth and home, and illegal
occupation or forcible closure of about 350 trade union offices. As many
as 927 teachers were not allowed to join work, and from the students
was taken away the right to form student unions. On the other hand, we
had to carry out such programmes as the demand for increase of wages
for agricultural workers, and organising programmes including marches
and a central program in Kolkata against the imperialist aggression in
Vietnam. On March 28, 1973, a historic movement was carried out as
part of the anti-unemployment day. In this way, very many mass
movements could be organised with success. At the national level, Mrs
Indira Gandhi proclaimed Emergency in 1975, but we in West Bengal had
already had a bitter taste of it from 1972 till 1977. [Biman Basu in Vol.
XXXI No. 25 June 24, 2007 in Peoples Democracy]
BIRTH OF A MARXIST REGIME:
1977 United Front led by united Janata Party swept all over India
against the misrule and excess of emergency imposed by Indira
Congress and formed the Union Government first time in the Indian
history a coalition government was formed centrally. In Bengal horror
remained although terror hid face. CPI(M) and its allies were not seen in
the election day anywhere but the Left Front swept with overwhelming
majority. Comrade Jyoti Basu became the chief minister for the first time.
One forgets now that Jyoti Basu joined the Communist Party of India
(CPI) in 1940, three years before the CPI was able to hold its first open
congress, in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1943; and that he was elected to
the central committee of the undivided party in 1951, 13 years before
he helped found the CPI(M) and 50 years before he relinquished his chief
ministership. Nor is it easy to recall now that his career as a member of
Bengals various provincial Assemblies began in 1946, when undivided
India and undivided Bengal were still under colonial rule, and ended only
in the opening years of the 21st century, spanning more than the first 50
years of independent India. During this entire period, he was not in the
Assembly only when he was either in prison or in the underground or, as
happened in 1972, because he and his party had boycotted participation
17
in what he was to call an Assembly of fraud, which had come about as

a result of the Presidents rule that had been imposed after the CPI(M)s
electoral victory the year before and which gave the Congress the
opportunity to rig the elections massively. Three factors in that early
honing of Jyoti Basu as communist activist are worth recalling. First, upon
joining the party as a product of a genteel Calcutta family and with a degree in
law, he was assigned the task of serving as liaison between the underground
and the above-ground sections of the party, and thus learned to work on both
sides of the law.
Second, and more crucially, he was shifted in 1944 to trade union work,
getting to organise a railway workers union in the Bengal/Assam region.
It was from the Railway constituency that he got elected as MLA in 1946.
Faced with Congress hooliganism in the course of that first election
campaign, he learned how a well-organised working class movement
can fan out and overcome systematically the fraudulent practices of the
bourgeois politicians and their cohorts in the bureaucracy. He was to
retain this connection with the working class and trade union work all his
life.[Marxist in practice by AIJAZ AHMAD in FRONT LINE Volume 27 Issue 03 :: Jan. 30-Feb. 12, 2010]
Such a great
personality was chosen by the Left Front to lead Bengal. The election
manifesto was fulfilled. The feudal landlords lost their glory with the
losing of land. The surplus land held by them in the name of cat dog and
even god, was distributed to the peasants to fulfill the demand of
reminiscence of Tebhaga movement, he who plough is the owner of that
land ( Langol jar Jomi tar). Land reforms and operation Barga became
the law of the land. Haldia grew up as Port city. Disdained Kalyani and
Salt Lake, the so called dream of Bidhan Chandra Ray, turned to be true
by the Left Front government. The recommendation of various education
commission was implemented recovering them from hibernated stage.
School Education was made available to village and city in free of cost.
Learning through mother language became mandatory in the
government aided school.Salt Lake was named Bidhan Nagar to
commemorate the dream of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray. Bidhan Nagar
became the posh area of Bengal and a busy township glorified with
Electronics Complex,( Later IT Hub), Second Hoogly Bridge, EM Bypass,
express ways( Kalyani and Belgharia) and the participation of common
mass in administration through three tier Panchayat Raj( Village
Councils) changed the sleeping Bengal as vibrant. These gave impetus
to the enhanced purchasing power of the peasantry of Bengal that had
the demand for the installation of big modern manufacturing industries.
It was also a requirement of the agro products to reach to the market
smoothly through a proper infrastructure, making of rural road connector
with the high ways, creating a direct selling hub of the produces and
building up agro industry belts. After 23 years of chief ministership he
resigned due to old age physical problems.
18
In this juncture Buddhadeb Bhattacharya took up the mantle of chief

Ministership to proceed further with the agendum of industrialization.
Due to the land reform the peasantry of Bengal gave an output of
agriculture which was ever topper in the country. So there was a gradual
rise in literacy rate. Purchase power of peasantry became higher than
brethren of any province. But sordid tale was that the old type industries
sank and closed the shutters where as modern industries did not
develop. Some hindrances like Freight Equalization, Licensing Policy etc
were major factors to open factories in West Bengal. Besides, the
industrialists who were averse to leftists and their policies on
industrialization did not come up to invest. Further they were gaping for
Financial Crunch later known as Melting. There were also the barriers
raised by the Central Government led by Congress. Due to changing
pattern of Governance in Central Government and Congress being
gradually weak in strength and due to capitalist way of reforms to
implement LPG, some conveniences came handy to the chief minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to address the dire need of industrialization.
Freight Equalization, Licensing Policy were withdrawn which was the long
pending demand of the leftists. Due to the newer concept of global
village and foreign direct investment the barriers raised by the Central
Government were removed. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya took hasty steps
to look forward and to leap forward. He did not bother who were behind
the screen to pull string or what are pulling his legs from behind within
the Front and party and outside the Front.
END OF AN ERA During a press briefing in May 2006, CPI(M) state
secretary Biman Bose made a prophetic comment. While speaking on
the role of media which was then projecting chief minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee as the poster boy of reforms, Bose remarked bluntly: The
media has taken the Brand Buddha line. But it can spell trouble for him.
The outspoken
CPI(M) state secretary was expressing his worry that the same media
which is making a superhero out of him, was equally capable of abruptly
changing color, chameleon-like, and start smearing the chief ministers
image. Biman Boses comment came at a time
when the political influence and reputation of Buddhadeb was at its
peak. He had just won the 2006 state assembly elections with a colossal
majority and was hailed as a new-age leader, a capitalist communist
who was expected to steer Bengal to glory. The industrial lobby, the neoliberal media and large sections of the urban middle class was praising
him animatedly for his single-point industrialization agenda. He was
been credited for bringing back hope to a state marred by despair.
19
Neo-liberalism advocate The Economist went gaga to extol him for his
reputation for probity, for being modest and engaging on topics from
agri-business to consumerism and Indian poetry. From Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to Azim Premji of Wipro, many big-shots were lauding
him as Indias best chief minister.
[Marxist in practice by AIJAZ AHMAD in FRONT LINE Volume 27 - Issue 03 :: Jan. 30-Feb. 12, 2010]
The slogan that flattered Brand Buddha was KRISHI AMADER BHITTI,
SHILPO AMADER BHABISYOT (AGRICULTURE IS OUR BASE LINE BUT
INDUSTRIALIZATION IS OUR FUTURE). In 2006 he changed the slogan
MATI TE AMADER PA CHOKH AMADER AKASHE ( OUR FEET ARE ON THE
EARTH BUT OUR EYES ARE FIXED ON SKY). IT hub in salt Lake Sector Five
began to get decentralized in districts too. An Auto Industry in Singur led
by Tata Group was near to the completion, many a projects were on the
search of lands. A chemical hub in Nandigram delta, Two aerodromes, a
long stretched six lane high way stretching from southern part to the
Northern part of Bengal, a short cut corridor through Bangladesh to
reach Coochbehar and Tripura was on the table.
What prompted such positive role to be banished? An eminent
economist, noted author and a former Left Front minister Dr. Ashok
Mitras scathing article Look Back In Triumph appeared in the pages of
The Telegraph (On May 23,2011) lambasting the medias vindictive
political role Dr. Mitra, wrote:
A few months ahead of the election date, important segments of the
media launched a furious campaign of dissembling. The people of West
Bengal, it was ipso facto evident, want a different regime to rule them
and they, the media, are ambassadors extraordinary, directly
despatched by the Almighty to bring about this change. The media set
to work. They posted hilarious imaginary tales about how the minds of
the voters were working in district after district and constituency after
constituency. Once such an exercise is on, it is contaminating: As gossip
becomes Bs staple, Bs gossip becomes Cs staple, and so on down the
line, with illusion feeding upon illusion.
20
None of the media bothered to find out whether voters in West Bengal,
in town and country, could have a mind of their own and might have
benefited in some measure or other on account of the activities of the
Left Front regime in the course of the past two and a half decades. They
regarded the electorate in West Bengal as dummies who would vote as
the media would direct them to.
The second quotes will speak itself. It is delivered by Justice Markandey
Katju, (former Judge, Supreme Court of India), Chairman, Press Council
of India PUBLISHED IN THE HINDU on November 5, 2011.
To understand the role which the media should be playing in India we
have to first understand the historical context. India is presently passing
through a transitional period in its history, transition from feudal
agricultural society to modern industrial society.
This is a very painful and agonizing period in history. The old feudal
society is being uprooted and torn apart, but the new, modern, industrial
society has not yet been entirely established. Old values are crumbling,
everything is in turmoil. We may recollect the line in Shakespeares play
Macbeth: Fair is foul and foul is fair. What was regarded good earlier
e.g. the caste system is regarded bad today (at least by the enlightened
section of society), and what was regarded bad earlier, e.g. love
marriage, is acceptable today (at least to the modern minded persons).
One is reminded of Firaq Gorakhpuris Urdu couplet: Har zarre par ek
qaifiyat-e-neemshabi hai Ai saaqi-e- dauraan yeh gunahon ki ghadi
hai
In a marvel of condensation this sher (couplet) reflects the transitional
age. Zarra means particle, qaifiyat means condition, e means of,
neem means half, and shab means night. So the first line in the
couplet literally means -Every particle is in a condition of half night.
The 2009 parliamentary election signaled the fall of the leftist rule and the 2011 assembly
election brought down the collapse of Left Front and the silver line of industrialization
waned. Another experiment of Alternative Strategies in Leftist Bengal nipped in the bud.
This Alternative Strategies to the Washington declaration was followed by Czech, China
Poland and the output came out affirmative to fight out the negativity of market
economy.This was more than a conspiracy than a political ploy. This was Bengals historic
legacy that drove out Prince Dwaraka Nath Tagore from Bengal, the first and foremost
Indian intellectual who pioneered modern industry like Mining, Banking, Insurance and
21
Railway. Patrons of earlier noted Hindu Nationalism set up a mindset to establish

monopoly of some states and some communities to command the commerce and industry
of nation with the help of anti left political forces. The successors of Seth Umichand and
Jagat Seth and Mir Zafar always secured victory and pushed the country toward
sectarianism to invite foreign investors. Still there was an exclamation how the chinese
wall of commitment and dedication of Leftists broke down! From 1987 onward the left
parties started succumbing to rightist attitude and etiquettes. Some leaders got involved in
such sort of bourgeois culture that some lower level cadres too were indulged in prompting
reactionary attitude and approach. Culture of consumerism in theory was banished but in
practice it became rampant. Successes won through struggle of the past were turning blue.
The process of purging stopped. The famous Leftist culture became a pride of the past.
Indian Peoples Theatre, All India Krishak Sabha and other mass organizations became a
paper reality. Centre of Indian Trade Unions and All India Government Employees
Federation and Left Front used to call a Strike once in the year against Liberalization,
Privatization and Globalization all over India when the left front government engaged its
machinery in the implementation of Neo Reforms in unison with the Manmohan Singh led
Congress Government UPA 1 and a part of UPA2. The stand of the government was not
tallying with the stand of the constituent parties of Left Front. The dichotomy went further
when in other States, CPI(M) and its allies were protesting against the acquisition of
agricultural lands , in West Bengal being on treasury they were acquiring agricultural lands
for industry and for the capitalists. In Bengal there was a peculiar phenomenon that due to
Operation Barga and Land Reforms the arable lands were owned by the small peasants who
afforded to make at least one of their children educated up to college levels. They were at
dismay that their own government was now after their land to sell it to the big bourgeoisie.
Added fuel to this dichotomy was the communal forces making hue and cry of acquisition
of their Mosque and burial ground by the left front. State CPI(M) failed to propagate to the
general mass that Government within a given structure of bourgeois democracy run by a
Left Front had to follow some Central Governments agenda which were not incorporated
in the manifesto of the Left Front.
A secret paper was made in public of acquisition of land for a chemical
hub and that enflamed the rumour to a riot. In fact Nandigram was
beyond the control of government for a several months. Many police
officers were murdered. There were two artillery forces of two political
colours took their battle fronts and a civil war broke out. No opposition
party played responsible role to oust the Maoists or to stop the war
22
rather some roamed around with the Maoist guerrillas and their frontal
organizations. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya backed out and
assured that there should not be any industry against the peoples will
and appealed the agitators to recede and to create a peaceful
environment. The ploy was then turned into conspiracy, police opened
fire and allegedly fourteen people were killed. The consistent erosion of
the Lefts support base in the rural areas that had started since the 2008
panchayat elections reached its high point when Mamata Banerjee
successfully chased away the Tatas from Singur. A helpless chief minister
and his government just watched like a sitting duck how skillfully the
rainbow opposition force took complete control of the situation. Titmice
were seen kicking the elephant that had been stuck in mud. Men and
women from different walks of life from the ultra Left-ultra RightCentrists,
the
poets-writers-artists-critics-dramatists-actors-singersfilmmakers, the historians-sociologists-anthropologists, the spiritualistsanarchists-existentialists-rationalists-socialists-social
democrats,
the
Gandhians-Ambedkarites-Arya Samajis, the traders-middlemen-brokerspeddlers-touts-pimps, the rights activists-environmental activists-fact
finders, the renegades-utopian dreamers-opportunists, the conspiratorsmanipulators-undercover and double agents, the time servers-self
seekers-turncoats, everyone from everywhere jumped on the Mamata
bandwagon to protest against Buddhadebs industrial policy. Taking
advantage of the situation, the Maoists in the Jangalmahal area and the
ethnic Gurkhas in Darjeeling raised their head to add more trouble for an
already dejected administration.
[Marxist in practice by AIJAZ AHMAD in
FRONT LINE Volume 27 - Issue 03 Jan. 30-Feb. 12, 2010 ]
With a single point agendum- OUST CPI(M) FROM BENGAL Trinamul

Congress brought all anti CPI(M) forces together and gave a big thrust in
Parliamentary election of 2009. The onwards the one leader one
coalition became able to oust CPI(M) out of power in
2011
assembly election. The same strategy was taken to wipe out CPI(M) from
the mind of the people. This time SUCI joined the AITC-CongressNaxalite coalition. [ From 1970 onward Naxal movement faced backlash and
counter terrorism and CPI(ML) broke into pieces. Maoists were the combination
of two fractions of Naxalites. There were several such outfits claimed as
Naxalites]
TABLE 3
23
West Bengal Parliamentary Election Result

1999
2004
Se
at
No. of
votes
918963
1
468893
2
122387
9
121591
1
150065
3
392842
4
INC
%
26.0
4
13.2
9
CPI
3.47
AIFB
3.45
RSP
BJP
4.25
11.1
3
SUC
CPI(
M)
Not mentionable
35.5
125539
7
21 91
AITC
8
3
4.01
3.66
4.48
8.06
No. of
votes
778617
8
538575
4
148415
2
135242
3
165878
7
298395
0
26
142710
42
%
21.0
4
14.5
6
38.5
8
Se
at
1
6
2009
%
31.1
8
13.4
5
Se
at
19
6
3.6
3.04
3.56
6.14
33.1
No. of
votes
133215
53
574905
1
153821
1
129950
7
152077
2
262518
2
131461
3
141446
67
Actually this time in 2009 and 2011 election result showed that
the coalition could not oust the CPI(M) from its supporters but from
gaining seats only which was technical one. In 2009 CPI(M) lost 126375
votes and in 2011 the figure got down to 322139 votes. Erosion rose up
during these two years. Might be issues were different but the causes
laid upon for erosion were the same. What prompted these voters to
switch over to opposite party? To read between the lines it is the fact
that the margin of CPI, a low profile constituent, gained to a certain
extent. Otherwise AIFB & RSP suffered loss. Even INC suffered erosion
approximately by 5 lakh votes in assembly election 2011 while it rose up
by 4 lakh nearly in 2009 parliamentary election. There must be some
reason of such set back of CPI(M) ,INC and AIFB and RSP. The causes
might not be the same but obviously of similar in nature. The reasons
shown for deterioration of votes for leftists could not be the same as for
24
INC. It implied that INC votes were shifted to AITUC and there were
people who did not cast vote for any party also.
Assembly
Election
PARTIES
2006
%
Seat
No.
of
votes
Se
at
No.
of
votes
CPIM
37
176
30
40
INC
15
21
42
AITC
27
30
39
AIFB
23
18
4
11
RSP
20
CPI
BJP
2
2
8
0
146522
00
58053
98
105121
53
223285
0
146390
1
753317
760236
2
4
2
0
143300
61
433058
0
185476
78
228582
9
141125
4
876576
193465
0
Total
2011
294
29
4
Besides there were other factors officially drawn like delimitation

of constituencies. Young voters were not attracted to the Left Front in
power for 34 years i.e. anti incumbency factor prevailed and Left Front
failed to address the problem. There was no land policy adopted by the
Central government which was the first and foremost condition of
acquisition of land for industry because land is in the concurrent list.
Everywhere where new industry were to kick off, protests and agitation
by the farmers were going on. The capitalists were also shaky to invest
in an environment of uncertainty. Lumpen capital from chit funds were
in the market which preliminary enchanted several lakh of people and
some political parties in opposition which took three years to unfold the
stories. [ On may 09, 2014 Supreme Court ordered probe to be
conducted by CBI under the supervision of the Apex court and all othe
investigative agencies of Central and State got mandate to assist the
probe.]
LESSONS LEARNED :
A review report on the election results, adopted by the CPI(M) Central
Committee in Hyderabad in 2011,June 11-12, noted that in West Bengal
the people have voted determinedly for a change.
25
It is evident from the results that the trend against the Left Front,
which emerged partly in the panchayat elections in 2008, continued in
the Lok Sabha polls in 2009 and in the 2010 municipal polls and got
further momentum in the Assembly elections, .
The
prolonged rule of Left Front government for 34 years has led to an
accumulation of various negative factors which have impelled the
people to vote for change.
Shortcomings in the performance :
i. Some of the programs and schemes ( PDS, Health, education,
rural
electrification
etc.)
were
not
taken
up
for
implementation.The deficiencies in basic services and their
delivery caused discontent among the people.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
At the political level,there was an all in opposition unity from the

rightwing. Lok Sabha Election Review of the Central Committee
stated The TMCled combine has been effectively using the
issue(Singur- Nandigram) to drive a wedge between the Party and
a section of peasantry. The administrative and political mistakes
in this regard proved costly.
At the grass root level, the erosion of support amongst the
working class and rural and urban poor indicates the failing to
consistently take up the class issues. The independent role of
Party and the mass organizations was impaired due to
dependence on the administration. The image of Party amongst
the
people
has
been
dented
by
manifestations
of
highhandedness, bureaucratism and refusal to hear the views of
the people. The existence of corruption and wrong doing among
small strata of Party leaders and cadres due to the corrosive
influence of being a ruling party and running the government
for a prolonged period was also resented by the people.
Notwithstanding these important achievements ( Land Reforms,
Panchayat raj, small and middle sector industrialization Muslim
reservation quota within OBC, etc.) the limitations and difficulties
of working under an overall neo-liberal set up also became
evident. A more elaborate review should examine whether the
Left Front did enough to implement alternative policies to the neoliberal framework.
In many places, the poor and the working people ( Morethan 1
Crore 95 lakh votes which is 41 % of the total votes polled) stood
26
vi.
vii.
with the Party. We have to base ourselves on this mass support

and go towards recovering the lost ground.
There was a systematic and concerted campaign against the Left
Front and the CPI(M) in particular in the mass media controlled by
the corporate sector. The sustained campaign over the last three
years has influenced a section of the people particularly the
middle classes. Identity politics was fostered to weaken the class
based unity of the people. This election saw the use of money in a
big way, not seen before in West Bengal. Various NGOs and
imperialists agencies were against the Left Front.
The Party has to study the changes that have come about in class
relations especially after three decades of land reforms and the
development of capitalist relations. We have to examine the shifts
in class positions with the advent ofa rural rich strata. Similarly,
under the impact of neo-liberal policies, there are changes that
have occurred among the middle-classes and the poorer sections
can be determined on this basis.
Communists of India were allegedly called as Mistake Makers. They do

wrong and analyze post facto, again do wrong and never reach to the
right. It is not wrongly stated. The Left can not be Right. The Rightists
never confess their error and mistakes they call it a failure of policy,
even that goes to the extent of corruption. It is also allegedly true that
Leftists are not corrupt.
The analysis CPI(M) Central Committee in Hyderabad, as stated earlier,
was not a full proof cognizance of the failure of Left Front.
1) The Party was gradually increasing its strength in Parliamentary
and Assembly election of Bengal on the support of working class

of people of Barrackpore and Howrah industrial belts which at
present turned into a desert. The cause of closures was blamed
upon the trade unions although the world wide financial crises
affected the old type industries.
2) The major support during the 34 years of governance came from
the rural agriculture sectors which were hankering for modernity
and more employment and decentralization.
3) The capitalist form of Business Process Outsourcing to found IT
Hubs required early attention, which came late in salt Lake Sector
V but the decentralization of IT Hubs in Districts got delayed.
4) The dichotomy of State Government and the State party
regarding Marketing Finance, Reforms, Nuclear deals, and other
Central policies pushed the elites and middle class in confusion.
27
The harshest dichotomy was on acquisition of arable land which

was once benevolently given to the peasants free of cost and
selling of such lands to the big bourgeoisie(Capitalists against
whom the party educated people to fight).
5) Snob attitude and belittling the anti left forces ( who are the
better mediums of rightist imperialists than Communists) was the
great folly of combined decision of Left Front.
6) The role of Central Government to construct an Industry was
better ventilated by Late Comrade Jyoti Basus regime but the
role of Central Government in adopting a land policy with regard
to industry was not propagated to the peasantry; they on the
contrary accepted the that industry was the need of the time and
industry can not be built in sky. So there was such a large base of
voters supported in the bad times when moderate and extreme
rightists and leftists formed the so called rainbow coalition
attacked vehemently with the help of some media who later was
reprimanded by Mr. Katju, chairman PCI.
7) The educated portion of the offspring of the poor peasants
needed employment because those of their brethren in public
sectors and private sectors do not belong to the classes they
earlier belonged. Class character changes through evolution.
REIGN OF RAINBOW COALTION
But the bubbles of false promises made out by the CHANGE LOVERS
headed by AITUC formed government with absolute majority burst out in
three years rule. No land in Singur was given back to the so called
unwilling peasants. Nandigram is peaceful without having any CPI(M)
supporters dwelling. Some could stay in exchange of shifted loyalty and
as a show case of restoration of democracy. Only before the ensuing
parliamentary election some came back and dared to open party office
under threat gone ransacked. In Forest side , Jungle Mahal, some doles
reached and the leader of the Maoist group was killed by the Police
force, others were either in jail or shifted loyalty.
The observation of Central Committee of CPI(M) over the use of
money in a big way, not seen before in West Bengal has been
unearthed. All the chit funds money were involved there. The biggest
financial scam of the time since independence is now gone under the
investigation of CBI following a judgment of Apex Court on 09May, 2014
just before the final stage ( 12th. May) of parliamentary election 2014. A
chit fund named Sarada Groups of Companies and some small ones also
28
cheated 10000 crore of rupees affecting a few lakh of rural and

suburban poor people tolling suicides of nearly 60 persons. The network
spread over the eastern Indian states and its server used in software
networking, as per media hype, is allegedly installed in New York. CBI
was given all over power to probe this infamous scam which involved
politicians, high ranking officers and high profile people of the society.
Apex court will monitor the proceedings.
The media engaged in the propaganda were all on dying condition and
will attract CBI investigation. Some media changed their stand after the
reprimandation of PCI.
PARLIAMENTARY ELECTON 2014
The parliamentary election of 2014 will end on 12th May. The result will
be out on 16th May. Big commercial propaganda by BJP was in the air
promoting Narendra Modi as Prime Minister calculating the mandate of
Indian general mass will go against INC led UPA2 government which
failed to address the common mans problems like Inflation and
employment. The event management of Election Agencies highlighted
corruption issue also. Again a series of false promises were aired by the
BJPs Modi Management campaign. To give water or to protect womens
modesty, or maintaining the law and orders are the State matter,
obviously some are in the concurrent list, but the state government can
address the problems not the Central government alone. The Parliament
Members altogether participate in the debate on the Bills. One man or
one party without absolute majority cannot go alone with the bills.
Regarding some other issues UPA2 Government was successful with the
consent or amendments from the opposition parties. Ii is the fact that a
large percentage of voters are illiterates and ignorant of such
development. But they get convinced with the issue when they
experience the utility of the subject matter. Some votes on the favour of
those issues may go to the favour of the Party in Power of the State. On
some certain matters, BJP and INC have no difference of opinion (a) to
give advantage to the corporate houses, (b) to allow foreign direct
investment in retail sectors (c) to allow market players openly to
dominate national economy (d) to follow the dictum of IMF and WTO.
The differences lie in the matter of Hindu Nationalism and Indian
secularism. Yet Narendra Damodar bhai Modi factor will get an extra
leverage due to the fact that there is no alternative force of INC in the
country. The game players of Capitalist Globalisation have found a
reliable force in Modi led BJP to proceed forward to reap benefits out of
29
the doldrums of Manmohanomics legacy. To balance the Hindu

Chauvinism the players, the invisible hands, will choose some regional
parties dominant in different States to guard the erosion of muslim votes
(more than 12% of votes). The Muslim votes differ a lot from State to
State. In West Bengal the share is more than 25% of the total electorate.
Another false propaganda vibrant Gujrat model will attract young
generation to dream for industrialization and employment. So BJP will
win by the grace of super power. The regional secular parties those who
may make alliance with BJP but support the causes of Muslims and the
Downtrodden Hindus will also gain in this Parliamentary election.
In Bengal situations are not befitting to their policy of Finance Capital.
Here jathedari / Zamindary do not exist. Public sector employees are
tightly knitted with the left oriented trade unions and other trade unions
like AITUC, UTUC, INTUC; the latters break away faction is INTTUC
affiliated to AITC .Although Bengal suffered the bitterest riot between
Hindu and Muslim in past, now the situation is just opposite. Some
ghettos under some religious groups and social groups preach against
upper caste and Brahmanism, such high handedness of Upper Caste and
Brahmanism do not exist in Bengal. Here non Rightists have to act like
Leftists to gain the support of common mass. This is the basic social
structure of Bengal the Leftists had built. But as the Left Front and INC
kept themselves engaged in the regional issues and failed to assure a
stable government there chances are little.
Even if more than 70 per centum of vote gets polled free and fair, the
reflection of the switch over toward Left Front will not be bright. The
percentage of vote polling goes above the national average because of
the social consciousness of Bengalis as a whole. These Bengalis means
and includes the inhabitants of West Bengal. The problem lies there. As
there is a havoc turn out of voters, as the parties are hurling negativity
on regional issues although their election manifestos address the socioeconomic problems like liberal market economy, Role of finance capital,
Reforms etc. the political clashes take place in rampant. In other States,
there goes silent rigging in favour of the powerful zamindars cum
politicians as we see in south Indian Movies and Bollywood movies.
It was understood that the government officers who will run the
administration and election process should act unprejudiced and
unbiased. But it did not happen in any State, they were used by the
party echelons either to siphon money or to loot vote banks in exchange
of better posting and prized nomination of election-candidates after their
30
retirement. Not that all of them behave in similar manner. Some good
officers get side-posting or compulsory waiting or just discharge their
duties in a routine manner.
This tendency reached peak during the 36 months tenure of AITC
government. People are aghast to see that the victims are getting
charges and going under lock up and the culprits run free. A large
numbers of eligible candidates for recruitment of teachers were
deprived of getting appointment as because they do not belong to the
ruling party or failed to bribe via brokers. The communists alleged the
lots of money from unknown source were spent from 2006 to create a
situation against the Left Front to buy votes and to switch over votes in
favour of AITC, later their coalition partner State INC later disintegrated
and accused AITC on the same issues and further State Unit BJP raised
the same alert. On the eve of the last phase, the Apex Court rejected the
State governments objection and ordered CBI Enquiry on Sarada Chit
Fund Scam.
The psephologists did market survey with the sponsorship of some
leading mass media projected Modi led BJP the winner and Runners up
will be INC. Some of them predicted more than 50% seats to AITC and
approximately25% to Left Front 10% to BJP and 15% to INC. What they
did not count was that how much Scam will affect AITC and how much
rigging terror and killing will escalate the percentage of vote in favour of
AITUC. On 12th. May, the last polling day the electronic media, who
promoted AITC in the last Parliamentary election and Assembly election,
are showing the atrocities of AITUC cadres and the passive support of
Police administration that crippled the impartiality of State Election
commisiion itself. However, better late than never,some measures were
taken to sort out the problems which will try its best to show prove that
the partisan steps of the prejudiced administration is able to uphold the
written norm of so- called biggest democracy of the world.Theoretically
if every point is followed by the political parties and administration India
can boast of a real democracy. But illiteracy, poverty and population
exploded since 1947 which were not earnestly and honestly addressed.
A decade will pass and some intellectuals will claim everything was good
and everything is bad.
No terror can win ultimately. In 1972 a section of people and print
media propagated that Communista were finished, no chance was left for
coming back in power. In 1977 the propaganda was proved to be ill
motivated after the return of Left Front. Similarly after the kick-out of
31
Nambudripad Ministry in Kerala in 1957 the reactionaries exulted on the

end of the first Left ruled government and later they were proved wrong.
Again in Tripura Left Front government was lost and was washed away by
the terror and torture but the Tripura people brought CPI(M) back in
power. The opponent of CPI(M) at that time at those States were INC and
not AITC. So at this time at this State history of Leftism will not stop.
Leftism has root in Bengal and Left Front with many more allies may
emerge as formidable power block but not in this parliamentary election.
This is not State election. The State Government will be governed by AITC
till 2016 and BJP , if come into Central power , will dole out a special
economic package for West Bengal. So there is a chance of the prediction
made by the Market psepho logists may turn to be correct.
Left Front, as it is now, and the CPI(M) by the principle it is guided from
the beginning, forged an alliance with eleven other non-INC non-BJP
parties of different States based on 4-point common agenda.If the
number of MP permits to form a coalition government, can charter a
common minimum program to run the Central Government.Being a
secular and democratic party , INC, may support such government as a
reciprocation for UPA1 & UPA2 governments ,if it fails to come to power.
One thing is clear from the voting result of 2009 and 2011 that
machinery voting system is a doubtful bonafide to predict any statistical
data.May be for that reason AITC Chief while in opposition called the
victory of Left Front as a result of scientific rigging.But the big money
expended to highlight Agle bar Modi Sarkar( Next time Modi
Government) by the Corporate Event Management Group will make an
appreciable consequence in the traditional vote banks of coalition
democracy of India for a perfect capitalism. As the financial budgets of
the country was done under the control of big players of international
communnity, the election system is ready to be taken over by them.
A victory for Modi is likely and that is making Indias business class beam. The Indian stock
market has reached new highs. But Indias electorate is faced with a choice at a national level
between a corrupt family-run party backed by big business and landholder interests and an
extreme nationalist party that has adopted Modinomics to solve Indian capitalisms failure to
32
deliver sufficient growth and better profitability. It is a choice that will make many vote instead
for various regional parties or small radical parties which may well hold the balance of power in
parliament, as before.
Michael Robert's blog April 13, 2014
A critical day Posted in capitalism economics,
TRANSITION :
The expectation of people to keep trust of generation of employment or
lowering of inflation can not be satiated without the substantial growth
of GDP. To give a boost to the GDP the central government need to push
the national economy to the level of USA, UK and Japan in lieu of coming
out of BRIC or fighting against the big brothers as INC did remaining in
BRICS .(for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India , China and South
Africa combined; the acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman
Sachs in their Global Economics Paper No. 66, The World Needs Better
Economic BRICs. South Africa was invited to attend the 3rd BRICS
Summit in Sanya on 14 April 2011.)
The BRIC thesis posits that China and India will become the world's
dominant suppliers of manufactured goods and services, respectively,
while Brazil and Russia will become similarly dominant as suppliers of
raw materials. .Due to lower labor and production costs, many
companies also cite BRIC as a source of foreign expansion opportunity.
Some inequality of income and wealth is inevitable, if not necessary. If an economy is to
function well, people need incentives to work hard and innovate.The pertinent question is not
whether income and wealth inequality is good or bad. It is at what point do these inequalities
become so great as to pose a serious threat to our economy, our ideal of equal opportunity and
our democracy. [Robert Reich-economist and a left Democrat in Clintons cabinet as Labor
Secretary(http://robertreich.org/post/85532751265)]
Among the BRIC nations, India is slowly emerging as the favourite of fund managers as the stocks of its three peersBrazil, Russia and China go down.
33
A report from Partha Sinha of The Times of India may clarify the stand
point.
So what are the reasons for India becoming a darling of foreign fund managers while others lag
behind? And what is the implication for this FII preference for Indian stocks? "It seems that there is
an expectation lag in market performance and the current run is due to twin effects. Investors may
be bullish not because of how things are (in India) but because of where the economy may be in
the future," said Anis Chakravarty, senior director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India. "In this regard,
elections hold the key. There is an expectation that if the new government is formed with a clear
mandate it will take reforms forward, cut down on corruption and revive growth prospects of the
economy. Second, FII inflows have been good this current quarter and the sensex has been one of
the best performers among developing countries' indices," Chakravarty said.
The global feature that has been economically viable to come out from
the financial crises, as experimented by China successfully, is
Alternative Strategies. Leftists are propagating the Alternative Strategies
at this moment. Even the Lefists become an opponent force, they can
pursue the Central Government to take up a principle of conditional
entry of Foreign Direct Investment, the land reforms, and educational
reforms( both in concurrent list). Industrial Policy has to be taken on
Brick and Morter policy so that it can compete with the service sectors.
At present Central Government earned major from service sectors. The
bureaucracy also need to be revamped. The old feudal age was gone,
agro economy is reaching to its culminating point, Due to massive
computerisation the mentality of people has undergone a social change.
It is the need of social science to leap toward Induastrial Age. Export of
produces is now feeding the first world, export of products have been
necessary. So industrialisation is a necessity to empower the indian
economy.
Left Front has the idealism to connect mass to the productivity. So many
political parties winning from various bases of masses especially the
backward toiling classes have to come under an umbrella of
developmental agenda. A new and more powerful Left and Democratic
Front is required to emerge to confront the Finance Capital and Mafia
capital which widens the gap between a few rich and multitude of poor.
A movement named Occupy Wall Street anaesthetised US administration
a few year back which promoted a slogan of removing the gap beyween
we( 99%) and You(1%) . All the communists parties are on the road of
transition due to the changes in the nature of capital and modus
operandi of capitalists. Communust Party did not come back to Russia
although birth centenary of Marx , Engels,Lenin and Stalin are being
celebrated there. China remained unique and unparallel. Peasants and
workers under Socialist parties and Communist Parties in Africa and
34
Latin America are changing their route adapting with the modernity of
the time.In 2013 Unite Kingdom witnessed its worst possible strike on
the issue of privatization of Pension Fund ever seen successful in the
history of England and that too called by the Leftist and Socialist trade
unions.
Resurrection of Leftism may not be a possibility right now but the
communists and other leftists have to pass through a compelling
transition. Sooner the leftists of India realize it better the days can be
seen ahead.Experience with the capitalist globalization was not at all
good in East Asia rather throughout the third world. The transition from
communism to a market economy has been so badly managed that,with
the exception in China, Vietnam and a few eatern European countries,
poverty has soared as incomes have plummeted( Joseph Stiglitz in
Globalization and its Discontent).The problem is not with the
Globalization but with the conepts of handling the process of
Globalization.The players are IMF, WTO and WORLD BANK who set rules
for profit interest of the advanced industrialized countries not in the
interest of developing countries. Leftists need to understand well why
they have failed, and failed so miserably. It is not mere a challenge, it is
a tooth and nail fight for survival of a rational and pragmatic mind
set.The leftists alone has to take up the responsibility of creating mass
awareness about Global Warming, Water Pollution, Genetically Modified
foods, and building a congenial atmosphere for agriculture and insustry ,
promoting the participation of common people in small scale invstment
and insurance and industry and finally raising voice of support and
protest as the situation demands. For some current decades, number of
seats owned and per centage of votes won may not be proportional but
ultimately paradox will come out and the mathematics of developmental
transition will prove that everything on earth is proportionately made.
35

Resurrection of Leftists

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Resurrection of Leftism

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vidyut Chakraborty loves to write on

he tries to survive befittingly. Born in

4th November 1952, studied in University of

Resurrection of Left Front is now a debatable question in West

the potential benefits of globalization are to be achieved,

BACKGROUND OF PRESENT SCENARIO:

A section of media , some columnists and some NGO-brass draw a line of

NOT SEPARATED FROM INC

TURN OUT OF VOTERS:

YEAR VOTER TOTAL

The tremendous hard work in labour belt and agriculture sector

Percentage of Votes all

BASIC REALITY BEFORE AND AFTER 1947

In West Bengal, in 1953, when the British-owned Calcutta Tramways

were jailed without trial. Again on 2930 December 1964, over a

party. In West Bengal two separate internal dissident tendencies emerged,

daily functioning and in its effort to build up mass movements in the

in what he was to call an Assembly of fraud, which had come about as

In this juncture Buddhadeb Bhattacharya took up the mantle of chief

Railway. Patrons of earlier noted Hindu Nationalism set up a mindset to establish

With a single point agendum- OUST CPI(M) FROM BENGAL Trinamul

West Bengal Parliamentary Election Result

Besides there were other factors officially drawn like delimitation

At the political level,there was an all in opposition unity from the

with the Party. We have to base ourselves on this mass support

Communists of India were allegedly called as Mistake Makers. They do

and Assembly election of Bengal on the support of working class

The harshest dichotomy was on acquisition of arable land which

cheated 10000 crore of rupees affecting a few lakh of rural and

the doldrums of Manmohanomics legacy. To balance the Hindu

Nambudripad Ministry in Kerala in 1957 the reactionaries exulted on the

A critical day Posted in capitalism economics,

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