CPI-M begins introspection on poll debacle

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The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Friday began a three-day exercise to introspect on the reasons for its defeat in the West Bengal and Kerala Assembly polls.

The party held a crucial politburo meeting here on Friday to go into reasons for the poll debacle.

The two-day central committee meeting, beginning on Saturday, will continue this exercise and will also discuss the current political situation in the country, especially in the backdrop of corruption scandals and the anti-corruption fight by civil society, party sources said. CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Sitaram Yechuri, Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, West Bengal unit chief Biman Bose and other top leaders attended the politburo meet, the second after the assembly elections in five states.

The politburo also discussed and finalised the agenda for the central committee meeting, which is also likely to discuss the issue of re-admitting former Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan into the politburo. Achuthanandan was removed from politburo in 2009 after the internal squabbling in the party’s Kerala unit. Senior leader and former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was conspicuous by his absence at the politburo meet. Bose told reporters that Bhattacharjee could not attend because of his illness.

The meet, held at MB Bhavan, the party’s state headquarters, also discussed action plan for taking up various people’s issues. Bose submitted a report to the politburo on the party’s poll debacle in West Bengal, where it had been in power for 34 years. Talking to reporters, Bose criticised the Mamata Banerjee government’s decision to promulgate an ordinance on Singur land when the assembly was in session.

“When Assembly is in session, an ordinance cannot be passed. A legislation is possible by tabling a bill in the Assembly,” he said. West Bengal governor M.K, Narayanan had on Thursday passed the ordinance to reclaim 400 acres of the 997.11 acres land in the deserted Tata Motors site in Singur to return it to the farmers who had been unwilling to give it up for the industry.