Lok Sabha elections: Losing ground, Left focus shifts to rural Bengal

An evening tiffin break of muri (puffed rice) with green chillies continues to be a tradition at the CPI(M) headquarter in Kolkata’s Alimuddin Street. For innovation, a spicy topping of samosa has been introduced more recently. In almost a ceremonial way, the hot muri is spread out on a newspaper and then neatly distributed in small packets for everyone in the office including visitors. That’s followed with tiny cups of tea. 

The ceremonial muri session at the Left bastion stands out especially during the election season as that seems to be among the few traditions to have lasted despite the decline of the CPI(M) in a state where it ruled for more than three decades at a stretch. Former chief minister Jyoti Basu’s photographs adorning the walls in the large office, situated in a predominantly Muslim locality, are a reminder too of the party’s past. 

In an election where Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are in an all out fight for 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, nobody seems to be talking about the chances of CPI(M), which had got two seats in 2014 against 34 of TMC, four of Congress and two of BJP. 

Why has the Left faded out from voters’ mind space? To that, Mohd Salim, sitting MP from West Bengal’s Raiganj told Business Standard, “our vote share was the second best after TMC in 2014. Both Congress and BJP had a much lower vote share. “ While TMC got 39.05 percent, CPI-M had 29.7 per cent, BJP 17.02 per cent and Congress 9.58 per cent. This time, Salim hopes CPI(M) will gain in vote share as well as the number of seats. 

Other parties don’t agree. Both TMC and Congress insiders believe CPI(M) tally is unlikely to go up in terms of seats. Some said BJP’s likely gain could come due to cutting into Congress and CPI(M) votes. 

On lacklustre campaigning by the Left, Salim said the party was focused beyond Kolkata and surrounding areas. He mentioned North Bengal as a region where Left was campaigning hard. On comparison with BJP and TMC rallies and publicity, he said, “it’s all about money power...”. And he left it at that. 

As for star campaigners and national leaders visiting West Bengal, Left is banking on the latest sensation Kanhaiya Kumar, who’s contesting from Bihar’s Begusarai and has captured the imagination of the locals. The CPI candidate has been campaigning in the interiors of Bengal. Then there are others like Sitaram Yechuri and Vrinda Karat doing rallies and public meetings. 

That's no match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah campaigning for lacklustre candidates in West Bengal. Even Congress, though it doesn’t expect great results for itself in Bengal, is banking on party president Rahul Gandhi to give the party a push in the last rounds of the 2019 election. 

Even as he pushes aside the Left’s decline in West Bengal as a debate that took place many years ago, Salim argues his party has a deep rooted place in the state, despite what one sees on the surface. “Left mobilisation” is without a match, he says, but BJP and TMC are trying to cut into it with Hindu-Muslim binary.