Come Dec, Bengal will have a Basu-less govt

Basu’s decision, owing to ill health, was approved by the CPM leadership at the recent party plenum in Thiruvananthapuram. “The issue of my resignation was in party agenda since last December,” Basu told reporters at the Writers’ Buildings in Calcutta this afternoon.

“Yes, he took me in confidence. He told me right there (at Thiruvananthapuram) about his final decision on the date to retire,” said CPM General Secretary, Harkishen Singh Surjeet. Last time round, Surjeet had rushed to Calcutta to dissuade his octogenarian colleague from resigning on the date he had announced: September 21.

Basu’s announcement came as a surprise since it was assumed that he would coutinue till the assembly polls scheduled some time next year. The retirement issue has been relegated to the background as a series of irritants including Trinamool Congress’ call for Central intervention in the state on the issue of political violence and the flood had bogged down the Left Front government.

Basu, who termed his tenure as the longest serving Chief Minister a `good innings coming to a happy end,’ felt confident that the Left Front will win the next assembly elections. “I am saying this on the basis of fact,” said Basu, who joined the Communist Party of India in early 1940s. Basu, who said that this by no means `a retirement from politics,’ said: “I will still be there, though I will not be the Chief Minister.”

But his allied seemed unconvinced. “Basu’s retirement issue should have been discussed in front and then it should have been announced formally,” said Debabrata Banerjee, a senior leader of the Revolutionary Socialist Party. “But nobody is indispensable, and if we function more as Front and less as a party, I see no problem.”

“We’ll tell the CPI(M) tomorrow during the meeting that this is not the time for Basu to retire, it will hurt us in the election,” said All India Forward Bloc state secretary Ashok Ghosh. The CPI spokesperson said “there’s no alternative to Basu and we’ll speak our mind in the meeting.”

Apparently, taking the hints of disaffection among the partners, CPI(M) State Secretary Anil Biswas today said: “Though we have taken a decision at the party secretariat meeting today about endorsing Basu’s retirement, finally he is more a leader of the LF and tomorrow we will request partners to agree to our proposal.”

Given the mood of the partners, it’s believed that not only the meeting will be stormy, but also the discussion on the issue may not be smooth.

The party’s view it seems is that the 10-5 p.m. Writers’ Building job was sapping Basu’s strength so much so that he was unable to devote time to the much-needed campaign which is going to be crucial in the forthcoming West Bengal election. Besides, the nagging issue of Basu’s retirement from chief ministership was cropping up too often for anyone’s comfort.

Instead of thrusting new face on the people right before the election, a section within the CPI-M top brass felt strategically it was be better if Bhattacharya got more time to interact with the people. So that they know who they are voting for, especially Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee looming large.

“It was felt that he could serve the party better, if he resigned from his Chief Ministership and concentrated on the campaign. He is the best person to explain the achievements of the Left Front Government even our allies realise that,” Surjeet said.

In days to come, Basu is likely to play the role of a full-time crisis manager of the party and also try to veer former allies to try take another try at forming a United Front to fight the BJP and the Congress.