Smarting under the humiliating defeat of the Left Front in West Bengal and Kerala, the CPI has for the first time openly blamed “big brother” CPI(M) for the disintegration of the Left movement in India.
In a draft political resolution finalised at the national council meet this month and to be adopted at the 21st Party Congress in Patna in March, the CPI lashed out: “The loss of power in West Bengal after 34 years is a political defeat resulting from incumbency due to arrogance of power, corruption and non-democratic functioning of the Left Front.”
Viewed as an attempt to step out of the CPI(M)’s shadow, the resolution stated: “... the CPI continues to be a big Left force in the country” and the party “must strengthen its relation with other Left parties, like Forward Bloc and RSP”. The document ignored any attempt to consolidate its bond with the CPI(M). The CPI has also called for unity among “other Left groups to broaden Left unity” and has for the first time invi-ted the CPI(M-L) to its party congress. CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan, without identifying the CPI(M), said: “The largest party in the Left Front indulged in unilateralism. Any front must run with mutual respect.” Mr Bardhan called for an “improved version of the Left Front”.
The draft added: “In Kerala, factionalism in the largest constituent of the LDF resulted in its defeat by a very small margin. Non-functioning of the LDF at the grassroots level was yet another weakness.”