Decimated at state, Centre, Bengal CPM to ponder way forward at meet on Tuesday

The report particularly talks about the CPM being confined to Bengali speakers in the state, and not being able to get new members from among those who speak Santhali, Nepali, Hindi, for example, and lately, also minorities and women. It talks about areas in Kolkata and surrounding neighbourhoods where the number of Hindi speakers has been rising.

The report points out that at the last conference a decision was taken to increase women and leaders below the age of 31 in the ranks. “But that number was not significantly increased…Is there any mental blockade within the party to implement this, that should be introspected,” says the report.

A CPM state committee member confirmed that the report talks of this “serious mental blockade”.

The report identifies eight sectors where the party organisation should be given extra importance, especially booth-level organisation. The report says the failure of the lower-level leadership in the state to strengthen booths had resulted in the poor 2021 Assembly results.

The messaging of the meeting is being seen as a signal to minority voters, who have moved away from the CPM to the TMC. The party has been underlining that its first state conference was in Metiabruj, an Assembly constituency with more than 80% minority voters. Former CPM MP and party secretary of South 24 Parganas district Samik Lahiri said, “We have a rich Communist history that started from Metiabruj. The Metiabruj name came about after Wajid Ali Shah came here from Awadh and made a clay fort (Mitti ka Durg) to fight the British. This was a natural hideout, providing an easy escape through the Ganga to Howrah. It was in this Metiabruj that the organisation of the Communist party was built… We are highlighting the history and journey of the Communist party from 1938 to 2022.”

Among the changes planned are a new state leadership with younger faces, including some who were given tickets in the last Assembly election. CPM sources said that a section wants the state secretary to be a known face, such as Md. Selim or Sujan Chakraborty. A senior leader said there could be objections to this. “Selim is competent, but in the Assembly election, the coalition he had forged with the ISF did not work. As for Chakraborty, he has just been included in the Central Committee.”

Among the fresh faces being considered is Sridip Bhattacharya, 65. However, a leader said, “A section of the leadership is strongly opposed and may ask for a vote if his name is announced. That would mean that for the first time in the party, election will be held for a state secretary.”

Earlier, the CPM had fixed the age limit for being a member of the Central Committee, a key decision-making panel, at 65. In line with this, the party’s state leadership had fixed their limit at 72.