CPI(M) opts for 'change' too

Ahead of the crucial state assembly elections scheduled to be held in May, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in West Bengal, is facing a serious challenge within the party from a number of powerful second rung leaders who have amassed muscle and money power over two decades.

The party leadership has now initiated the process of selecting candidates for the upcoming elections. While the opposition led by Mamata Banerjee has given a call for change, the CPI (M) is trying to change the look of the party to present itself as a “Changed party” to the voters, according to one senior CPI (M) central committee member.

 

For the achievement of this purpose, the party is toying with the idea of dropping at least 40 per cent of the present MLAs including some senior leaders.

As one senior CPI (M) leader puts it, the party is trying to select a balanced pack of candidates with clean image with an emphasis on the youth and women.

A number of senior state committee leaders have started the exercise of holding meetings with the leaders of various district committees to push the agenda. The main focus of the exercise is to shortlist the leaders whom the party would like to deny tickets for the coming assembly elections.

The state committee will assess the findings in its March 2 meeting. The candidate list is likely to be finalised around March 15. But already the party has started facing resistance on that score.

According to another senior CPI (M) leader, the party tried to deny nominations to some of the heavyweight candidates in the last Lok Sabha election. There was a serious attempt to drop Lakshman Seth, Amitabha Nandy and some other leaders from contesting the election as their image had taken a serious beating in public perception.

“Our effort to deny ticket to these leaders went in vain as they got solid backing from their respective district committees”, revealed a CPI (M) leader.

This time also the party is facing stiff resistance from some of the heavyweight district leaders and they are likely to be successful in pushing their candidates in getting party's nomination for the election.

The reason is obvious. Over the years the party has become dependent on these leaders who have become powerful enough to control the organisation and influence its decisions to their favour.

These rural satraps of the party have also become the face of the ruling CPI (M) before the people.

After the 2009 electoral setback, the party had initiated a process of rectification whereby it tried to weed out those leaders who had amassed wealth through corrupt practices and become arrogant.

But till now no action could be taken against them as they are well entrenched within the party organisation with their tentacles spread over it and a patron-client relationship exist between them and their followers.

Showing frustration at this development a CPI (M) central committee member observed, "The immediate task before the party is to cleanse it from the influence of these corrupt leaders, but it seems the real battle will begin with them after the election only."