Taking a jib at Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s “honesty”, state housing minister Gautam Deb on Saturday alleged that the “party she heads pumping in black money worth `100 crores in the Assembly polls to oust the Left Front from power.” He has also accused Trinamul Congress leader and Central minister Mukul Roy as the “main player of this fishy money game”.

Is the “no love-lost relationship” between CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Bengal lobby not over? It seems so as party central committee member and state housing minister Gautam Deb, going against the diktat of Mr Karat, has proposed expelled party leader Somnath Chatterjee to address a poll rally in his constituency Dum Dum on April 24.

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat will not campaign for what is arguably the most challenging Assembly election the party faces — West Bengal.

Is the bonhomie between the allies — Congress and Trinamul Congress — already over? Or is it a prelude to the break-up of the honeymoon period between the two?

The CPI(M) used to describe indiscipline, intra-party feud and open demonstration of disagreement with party leadership as vices of the bourgeois parties. It seems that these vices are now creeping into a regimented party like the CPI(M).

In an unprecedented move, the ruling Left Front dropped over half of its sitting MLAs, including nine ministers, from its list of candidates for the coming Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Reversing its line of contour in the manifesto from “G-to-C” (government-to-citizen) to “C-to-G” (citizen-to-government), the Left Front this time will stress more on civic (amenities) issues and less on development projects.

Is it a fatigue of power or simply a sense of foreboding? These are the questions cropping up in the inner circle of the ruling CPI(M), ahead of the crucial Assembly polls, after at least four heavyweight sitting MLAs (including three Cabinet ministers) have expressed their reluctance to contest this time.

West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday said that the Trinamul Congress made enormous electoral gains in the last few elections cashing in on the mistakes and misdeeds of a section of ruling CPI(M) leaders and cadres. “How did the Trinamul Congress get so much vote in the last Lok Sabha and municipality elections? Actually, people were alienated by the behaviour and attitude of some of our partymen,” he said.

Heeding the advice of late Jyoti Basu, the CPI(M) has decided to approach not only known supporters but also those who have deserted the party. The ruling party is planning to set up a 10-member team for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies which will go to polls. The responsibility of the teams will be to go from door to door to