After a ‘patch-up’ with Karat,Buddha to attend CC meet

“Not only did he skip CC meetings,he also did not attend Politburo meetings regularly,post-Nandigram. It is a fact that the West Bengal Chief Minister had never approved the withdrawal of support to the UPA-I government over the Indo-US nuclear deal and Karat’s intervention in the state party affairs. But we have learnt that one-on-one meetings between the two leaders have helped resolve the problem,” said a senior party leader.

CPM spokesperson Md Selim said: “It is a fact that the relations between the two had been on a low for some time”.

Immediately after the Lok Sabha polls were announced last year,the Politburo met in Delhi,but Bhattacharya skipped the meeting. At the meeting where the rectification document was approved,the CM was conspicuous by his absence. Similarly,he did not attend a series of such meetings where policy decisions were taken.

CPM sources said the rift between the CM and Karat had largely been healed after Karat admitted that the move for a third front in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls was a failure and one of the reasons for the debacle. Another CPM party veteran said Biman Bose personally played a crucial role in establishing a working relationship between the two leaders.

“The Chief Minister understands that the most crucial thing the party is going to face is the 2011 Assembly polls. In view of the Congress and Trinamool Congress posing a threat to the Left Front,the two have evolved a working relationship,” said party insiders.