People's Democracy

WEST BENGAL STATE COMMITTEE CALL

Consolidate Electoral Success By

Expanding Party Base

B Prasant

BRIEFING the press in Kolkata at the end of the two-day meeting of the Bengal state committee of the CPI(M) held on June 12-13, state secretary Anil Biswas said that the state committee “has called for consolidation of the electoral success of the Lok Sabha polls and for further widening of the popular base of the Party in Bengal.”

The meeting was presided over by Biman Basu and was addressed among others by Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat.  Jyoti Basu was present in the meeting.

Prakash Karat explained the outlook of the CPI(M) on the new UPA government.  He also explained the stand of the central committee not to join the new UPA government but to support it from outside.  It was decided at the state committee meeting that concerned ministers of the state Left front government would interact with and submit demands with their counterparts in the UPA government.

In the meeting, Shyamal Chakraborti spoke about the need to supply power at cheap rates to the poor.  Dr Surya Kanta Mishra spoke about the role of the CPI(M) in accelerating panchayat work.

The state committee was of the view that the principal reason behind the electoral success in Bengal was that the CPI(M) was able to take to wide sections of the people the call of the CC against the anti-people activities of the NDA government.  The party remained united.  The state level leaders addressed 428 general body meetings and the district leaders addressed more than one thousand.  The Left Front was able to publish its list of candidates as early as by February 6.  The decision not to use microphones during meetings, while examinations were going on, paid popular dividends. 

The campaign work this time around, centred on personal touch with the electorate and house-to-house campaign along with smaller meetings in urban and rural areas, which proved successful.  Around 15 lakh Party workers and organisers took part in the election campaign. They would be made to undergo political-ideological training and the prospective among the sympathisers would be organised as auxiliary members. The campaign saw a thoroughly united Left Front emphasise the need for a Left alternative at the centre.

Several decisions of the Election Commission, especially the resolve to bring electoral officials from outside of the state, proved unpopular.  The CC has been urged upon to take the matter up with the EC so that these steps could be avoided in the future. 

The number of voters in 2004 was reduced but the voting percentage improved by 2.96 per cent compared to 1999 and by 2.76 per cent compared to 2001.  The voting percentage for Left front has increased by 3 per cent and 3.98 per cent compared to 1999 and 2001.  And that for the CPI(M) has increased by respectively 1.98 per cent and 1.73 per cent.  In six Lok Sabha seats, the opposition built up a grand alliance, and yet, were defeated.

In ten districts the CPI(M) has got more than 50 per cent votes and these are: Coochbehar, south 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, east Midnapore, west Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan, and Birbhum.  In six districts the voting percentage for the CPI(M) compared to 2001 has gone down and these are: Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, north and south Dinajpore, and Maldah.  The party and Left Front organisations must be strengthened here.

Analysing the weaknesses, the state committee held that a marginally few Party workers chose to remain inactive.  The cases are to be probed and appropriate measures taken.  The Party would also remain alert against any federal trend while organising campaign work.

On Murshidabad, the Party state secretariat met with the concerned district secretariat and had detailed discussions.  It was found that the Congress spent a huge and unprecedented amount of money in the three Lok Sabha seats here.  The communal forces were active in the district.  They had carried out slanderous campaign against the Left Front district wide. 

In a vein of self-criticism, Biswas noted, the secretariat believed that the manner in which campaign could be consolidated against the RSS and the Hindu fundamentalists could not be done against the Islamic fundamentalists.  The organisation must be made to be ready to struggle against both forms of fundamentalism in the days to come.

The state committee has adopted an emergent thirteen-point task schedule for the days to come.

• By defeating the NDA, the people of the country have voted for secularism and against the assaults of the process of imperialist globalisation which works to endanger national interest

• The task of rectification within the Party as outlined in Party letter No 5 must be carried on relentlessly

• Workers, women, and student-youth front workers have worked importantly during the election.  The politically prospective among them are to be made auxiliary members, given charge of mass fronts, and made politically conscious workers.

• Prior to the monsoon season, a plan must be made to organise the movement for land and wages

• A more conscious initiative must be taken towards implementing the Party directive on kisan movement

• The pace of organising the urban and rural unorganised workers must be accelerated; it must be ensured that they are able to utilise the government projects in this regard

• Speedier steps must be initiated for the overall development of the tribal areas; planning and coordination must be prioritised

• It is necessary to build up a conscious movement against backward thinking, and superstitious ways; the urban and rural local bodies must spend money with transparency involving the people on the basis of projects and submit utilisation certificates in time

• Till July 31, efforts must be continued to ensure the admission of students in primary schools, child education and secondary education centres; a continuous system of coaching of students of backward families must be done utilising the services of retired teachers and not just during summer recesses

• As part of the universal health campaign, besides administration of preventive medicine, the issue of construction of sanitary toilets must be emphasised

• The formation of self-help groups must be prioritised and made into a movement; groups, cooperatives and partnerships must be built up for minor mines and water bodies, taking advantage of the change in the land reforms policy

• Special initiative must be taken on the basis of political advice in the case of resource mobilisation for self governing institutions