BJP no longer alternative to TMC in Bengal: CPI(M) leader

The BJP's recent poll debacle has made people realise that the saffron party is not an alternative to the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, a senior state CPI(M) leader said on Saturday.

The CPI(M) Bengal unit after its two-day state committee meet, which ended on Saturday, also advocated in favour of weeding out inactive members.

"Various activities and policies of the state government had actually helped the BJP in the state. There was a perception that only the BJP could fight against the misrule of the TMC.

"But, the debacle of the BJP in three assembly elections (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) have made people realise that it is not an alternative to the TMC," the senior state committee member said.

The BJP and the TMC are "both sides of the same coin", and are just trying to "polarise" the state on religious lines, another state CPI(M) leader said.

"Now, our job is to reach out to the masses with our alternative policies and conduct mass movements on issues like agrarian crisis, unemployment and the lawless situation in the state," he said.

According to CPI(M) sources, the party has decided to weed out inactive members from its area and district committees.